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The moat around the main ramparts of the Ranton Chateau leads to numerous
rooms excavated in the rock. The network of rooms and passages
is very extensive. The earliest excavations are from the Merovingian
period, 700 to 900 AD, and traces of the architecture still exist.
Many of the rooms were inhabited well into the 19th century and some were still inhabited in the 1920s, within the living memory of people in the village. The limestone is generally of good quality and the excavations served as a source of building stone for the area. The Château of Oiron is built partly with stone from Ranton. In 1900, the population of Ranton still numbered about 600, mainly engaged in viticulture and stone extraction. The miners were known as "pions" and the method of stone extraction, using wetted wooden stakes to break off blocks, is still visible. Unfortunately, access to the underground village is not allowed as in some places the roof is unsafe and the network of passages is still not fully mapped. The excavations are unsuitable for unsupervised children. |
During the Hundred Years War, the excavations served as a refuge
for the local population. Some rooms still contain Gothic fireplaces,
cupboards set in the walls and niches for saints.
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