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The Caves of Naours
Underground, in the village of Naours in Picardy in Northern France lies a recently discovered legacy of the Great War.
When Archeologist Gilles Prileaux and his team began investigating the underground citytthat dates back to the medieval ages, he hoped to explore the life of the inhabitants then and how they lived in this vast subterranean city.
To his surprise he was to make a discovery that would provide a deep insight into the life of inhabitants, but not medieval ones.
He was to unearth a collection of graffiti from over 100 years ago. The signatures, drawings and marks left by soldiers who visited the caves during the Great War....many of them Australian.
Naours had always been a place of refuge it seems . Initially the caves were constructed during the barbarian invasions period (3rd and 4th centuries) and later in the 9th century at the time of the Norman invasions. From the year 800 until the Revolution of 1789, wars and invasions followed each other in Picardy and the population regularly used the caves of Naours as a refuge. Under Louis XVI's reign, they even served as "faux saulniers" (salt smugglers) to escape salt tax. IN 1887 the Abbot Earnest Danicourt rediscovered the cave network and for nearly two decades carried out extensive excavation to reveal the caverns, caves and cavities that existed. He opened them to the public to learn of the past history of the region and what their purpose was in those times. It was not until the Great war that the caves would serve another purpose in their long history.
During both world wars the caves were no longer used as refuges for the population but were requisitioned by the military forces. Thanks to the various writings on the walls and the objects and coins discovered when the caves were reopened, it is possible to not only date the periods in which they were occupied but to also imagine the life led by the populations who took refuge there. This is what makes the Grottes de Naours so interesting to visit. The Subterranean City has been opened to the public since 1949.
When Archeologist Gilles Prileaux and his team began investigating the underground citytthat dates back to the medieval ages, he hoped to explore the life of the inhabitants then and how they lived in this vast subterranean city.
To his surprise he was to make a discovery that would provide a deep insight into the life of inhabitants, but not medieval ones.
He was to unearth a collection of graffiti from over 100 years ago. The signatures, drawings and marks left by soldiers who visited the caves during the Great War....many of them Australian.
Naours had always been a place of refuge it seems . Initially the caves were constructed during the barbarian invasions period (3rd and 4th centuries) and later in the 9th century at the time of the Norman invasions. From the year 800 until the Revolution of 1789, wars and invasions followed each other in Picardy and the population regularly used the caves of Naours as a refuge. Under Louis XVI's reign, they even served as "faux saulniers" (salt smugglers) to escape salt tax. IN 1887 the Abbot Earnest Danicourt rediscovered the cave network and for nearly two decades carried out extensive excavation to reveal the caverns, caves and cavities that existed. He opened them to the public to learn of the past history of the region and what their purpose was in those times. It was not until the Great war that the caves would serve another purpose in their long history.
During both world wars the caves were no longer used as refuges for the population but were requisitioned by the military forces. Thanks to the various writings on the walls and the objects and coins discovered when the caves were reopened, it is possible to not only date the periods in which they were occupied but to also imagine the life led by the populations who took refuge there. This is what makes the Grottes de Naours so interesting to visit. The Subterranean City has been opened to the public since 1949.
Abbott Ernest Danicourt
Australian Soldiers at Naours during WW1
The Underground City of Naours
The story today.....
Gilles Prilaux ( who formally worked for INRAP and now for EPCC SOMME PATRIMONE) and his team including Matthew Beauvin ( DIRECTOR OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS OF THE BIOCAGE-HALLUE COMMUNITY OF COMMUNES ( SOMME) have been painstakingly studying the graffiti since it has been found, telling the stories of the soldiers who visited over 100 years ago. They have documented stories and shared them in the hope of telling more stories for the next generation. A local School, Villers Bocage has also been involved in the project supported by INRAP (A noted French Archeological group) to study and learn from the graffiti. Together the team has found Australian relatives and told amazing stories and it continues. Villers-Bocage has worked with students from Kepnock High School in Bundaberg to also learn about these soldiers who visited during the Great War. It is a hope that one day an Australian school will work with the French School to forge ongoing links. Gilles would like to present Australian Relatives withy graffiti of their relatives who walked in the caves.
Video Courtesy INRAP/ Cité souterraine de Naours
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Stories discovered and told......
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