La Condamine

Condamine means “collectively farmed land or sinkhole, commons”. La Condamine is a large fertile plain, sheltered from the wind, where crops used to be ready for harvest two weeks earlier. According to an old saying, “if the Causse Méjean was an egg, Condamine would be its yolk” or “its fattiest part”. Its less harsh climate than elsewhere on the Causse and its deep and fertile soil produced by the breakdown of the limestone bedrock explain why Neolithic man settled here and created the area's wealth of megalithic monuments.

The dolmen of Combe Lebrouze, which belongs to a group of dolmens of impressive sizes, is in fact the biggest on the Causse  Méjean. The capstone would have been about 6 metres long before it broke into four pieces. The burial chamber is divided into two by a transversal slab. It housed 34 adults and one child as well as precious burial goods. The dolmen was probably visited for the first time in 1871 (Revue du Gévaudan des Causses et Cévennes, 1964).

This natural depression, known as a sotch or doline, is created by rain run-off sweeping away disintegrated limestone. Dolines are often protected from the wind by rock faces, hedges or walls that enclose them. In the old days of self-sufficiency farming, only these fertile valleys were farmed.

Just before going downhill on the lane to Le Tomple, take the time to go up to Nis d'Acoul to admire the panoramic views: the protohistoric fortified site (cap barré) at Le Single, topped by communications masts; and to the east, the summits of Mont Lozère, the Cévennes, and on clear days the masts on Mont Aigoual (1,567 m). In the foreground is Mont Gargo, the highest point of the Causse Méjean (1,247 m), behind it the Causse Méjean plateau, and finally the cliffs of the Causse Sauveterre.

The houses in this hamlet (altitude 976 m) have been built from limestone blocks using a lime mortar. Some have been rendered. Such construction methods are characteristic for traditional architecture. The stones for building came from the plateau's quarries. The lack of wood forced builders to do without: no timber roof structures, just a stone vault covered by lauzes (flat stones). Traditionally made from limestone, these lauzes started to be replaced by schist lauzes a few years ago. These techniques mean that Causse houses are solidly built, with only small openings.

Box is a symbol of immortality because it is evergreen. In the Middle Ages, it was a part of the peasants' materia medica. Its essence, wood and leaves all have the same characteristics. Dried in the shade with frequent turning, its leaves were a remarkable antipyretic and diuretic with sudorific properties. They were also used to treat chronic skin diseases, gout, rheumatism and baldness. Branches were used as litter in sheepfolds. During the summer grazing period, the shepherds turned its wood into staffs with sculpted knobs and other objects.

Water being rare on the Causse, so-called lavognes – clay basins for retaining rainwater – were created by locals for their flocks. Lavognes are a part of local agro-pastoral heritage, but they are also of undeniable ecological interest. A large number of animals (mammals, birds, insects, etc.) come to drink and hunt here, dragonflies and amphibians even to reproduce. About 200 lavognes have been identified on the Grands Causses, but only too often a lack of maintenance leads to their disappearance.