La mare du Lavagnol

The fortifications of La Cavalerie, a centuries-old work against the test of time… Situated at the north of the Larzac plateau, La Cavalerie was created in the 12th century by the Templars of Sainte-Eulalie commandery, settled on the Larzac Causse since 1152.The Sainte-Marie church (1180) was included in the Knights Templars dwelling and included several buildings around a small courtyard. The village developed around this building, where the inhabitants found refuge in case of danger.However, this protection as well as that of the Commandery of Sainte-Eulalie was considered insufficient during the Hundred Years War, where the Larzac, a wide open plateau, badly defended but provided with cattle, attracted the people of war. The commander of Sainte-Eulalie, Bertrand d’Arpajon, fortified the important places of his commandery: Le Viala du Pas de Jaux in 1430, then La Cavalerie, La Couvertoirade in 1439 and finally Sainte-Eulalie in 1442.Source : Point accueil La Cavalerie.

On the Causses, the « lavognes » (cobbled watering place), are natural clay troughs, often circular, serving as a watering place for herds and fed exclusively by rainwater.In the second haft of the 19th century, the number of sheep was more important, and people decided to build bigger cobbled watering places. They are the only permanent water points with the natural watering place for animals and as such, they are precious and well maintained.

The vast desert expanses of the Larzac plateau usually evoke landscapes of desolation… The western fertile lands of La Cavalerie contrast with the arid areas located at the east. The cultivation of "the Plain of the Temple" is the work of the Templars since they cleared the land in the 12th century in order to produce grain.Cereals and forage plants are still cultivated today, and thank to the absence of chemical weeding, we can see a profusion of "harvest" plants: poppies, blueberries ... which offer, to the eye of the hiker, beautiful colorful landscapes...