Bories stone village in Provence
About 4km from the hilltop village of Gordes is this 17th century Bories stone village in the heart of Provence.
This former shepherd community is where small scale farmers would have lived and worked. It’s unusual due to its construction, with dwellings, shelters and storage being constructed using a dry stone method.
To visit Bories, we park in a free parking area about 1.4km away. Motorhomes have parked here overnight, but we have come from the Aire at Gordes. We walk from the campervan to the entrance which is a pleasant stroll along a quiet lane.
A unique village
The entrance fee of €8 each brings us to the heart of the former village. There’s a small ticket office and information giving details on the construction and about the people who lived here.
The immaculate stone dwellings, animal shelters and food stores are set amongst olive groves and mature oak trees.
We wonder around the site, which has various intact stone buildings. Each dwelling and dry stone structure has information boards so it’s easy to follow the history.
It’s quite humbling walking into each building, where such basic living must have been incredibly difficult. Homes had just one door, a basic lime plaster and communal oven for cooking.
The floors were stone and roofs high, each being cool in Summer. The location of the entrance door was such to protect against the cold Mistral winds.
Remarkable site
Although the village is small, its buildings are an intriguing insight into how these small farmers lived. In fact the word Borie actually originates from Latin and means a type of shed and it’s such an unusual place to see.
These stone buildings use a dry stone construction, in other words, it’s a skilful process. There’s no use of mortar to join the stones together, just stacking of the stones which come from the surrounding land.
This interesting village has been an historic monument since 1977 restoration is thanks to a group of volunteers.
To be honest, it doesn’t take us long to visit Bories, but it does make for an interesting detour after exploring Gordes. So, if you’re in the area, it’s a good place to see, especially if like us, you haven’t seen anything quite like this before!
