Le Ronc rouge

Every year on 10 August, pilgrims come to thank St Lawrence, once reputed to cure oral diseases. Detailed archaeological study would be necessary to elucidate the mystery of this chapel. A priory belonging to the Abbey of Saint-Andéol-de-Robiac, located in the village, is believed to have stood on the chapel site. The Romanesque chapel, of which only a few traces remain, was probably built between the 11th and 13th centuries. The various types of stone-setting show that, since then, it has been reworked many times, although we do not know when exactly. St-Lawrence’s chapel was stripped of its bell, which is now on the rocky spur that overlooks it.

These heaps are made up of the waste from coal mining. In mining days, the slopes were black and several dozen metres high. Today adapted vegetation covers them, allowing them to blend into the landscape. The slag heap concerned has recently been flattened and used to backfill the track. It is no longer covered by vegetation.