Spoulga dite des Églises

English translation

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History

The spoulga or fortified cave known as des Églises is located in the commune of Bouan, in the department of Ariège, in the heart of Sabarthès. It benefits from registration as a protected site by an order dated 25 February 1943. The Ariège flows at the bottom of the valley, dominated by the mountain of Quié. The RN 20 follows the course of the river towards Ax-les-Thermes and Andorra, as does the railway line. The spoulga is situated on the slope of the Quié mountain. It is located on the cadastral plot A 490 and is the property of the commune of Bouan. The access path is practicable from the village of Bouan. The anthropogenic structures extend over more than 100 metres along the cliff and cover approximately 2000 square metres. They were developed from about ten natural cave entrances present in the rock, which, for some, open onto karstic networks that communicate with each other. An entrance gate defends the entrance to the site. A first cave is still defended by an enclosure with merlon and houses three cisterns whose interior is covered with tuileau mortar. After a second gate, the second cave appears. It is again defended by an enclosure largely preserved, with merlons and traces of interior fittings of the type of beams and floorboards. In the upper part, a second enclosure protects a cistern. The term spoulga is derived from the Latin spelunca or cave, cavity. It takes here the meaning of a fortified place. This phenomenon of speluncae or defensive refuges takes its origin from antiquity, notably around the Mediterranean and the Near East. In the Balkans, during Ottoman occupation, Christian rebels took refuge there, as they did in Crete in the early 19th century. In the medieval period, the first mentions of these fortified caves are found in the Chronicles of Fredegarius, the Annals of Metz and the Annals of the Kings which recount the military campaigns of Pepin the Short in the second half of the 8th century. In 767, Pepin, coming from Bourges and heading towards the Garonne, conquered several fortresses and speluncae established by his enemies. Historians of the Holy Land and certain archives relating to the Latin East also speak of these fortified caves used by Christians. The speluncae of Tyron and Suhet are thus mentioned in 1239 as being lost to the Latin kingdom. The spoulgas of Sabarthès have been studied in recent years by archaeologist Florence Guillot. She has counted no fewer than thirty spoulgas in this valley, some concentrated over a few kilometres: 9 in the lower valley of the Vicdessos over 5 km long and 12 in the valley of the Ariège upstream of Tarascon over 6 km long. Among these fortified caves, some retain only rare vestiges: beam and floorboard notches essentially, sometimes traces of masonry walls. The most complete are those of Alliat, Baychon, l'Ermite, Ornolac, Soloumbrié, Verdun and Bouan. The spoulga of Bouan is by far the best preserved in terms of standing vestiges and also the most extensive. This network of fortified sites overlooks essential communication routes for the county of Foix, notably the via mercadal which linked Catalonia to Toulouse. The spoulgas of Sabarthès were directly dependent on the feudal power of the counts of Foix and constituted from the 12th century a defensive glacis to protect their domains towards Aragon and Catalonia. The spoulgas of Sabarthès served as refuge for believers and Perfect Cathars in flight. During the Wars of Religion, which struck Sabarthès and Tarascon several times, the Protestant troops took refuge in the surrounding mountains.