Le blog de Haywire

It was only natural during a week when we worked and talked of stone every day, that someone should mention the great dry-stone walls that litter the hill between St Clement and the next door village of Rains. So on Cosy's last morning in France we went for a stroll over there. Cosmas was as captivated as anyone by the huge walls whose origins or function no one seems to be quite sure about. Surely they are way too massive and elaborate to be boundary walls between fields. Of the latter, there are many here and they are much smaller, thinner and don't have sides of stone that have been hewn and squared. These walls are man-high and often wide enough for three to walk comfortably abreast on. For someone who has been to Great Zimbabwe, the kinship seems quite obvious; and the idea that this could simply be the stones the villagers picked up from their fields seems rather ludicrous. These aren't just simple stones. They are big lumps, squared and carved into form and why would anyone go to so much trouble simply to keep stones out of fields and to separate the fields from each other?  Cosy and I decided that these great stone works had to have had some sort of defensive function. When? Peace only knows! But it is tempting to assume they could have been erected in the dark ages to provide the villages and their cattel shelter against marauders. Or perhaps they could even date back to Roman times. There is, after all, a Roman road crossing the valley just below our village of St Clement.

Among the walls and built into them there are the 'cadoles'. Stone shelters built entirely without mortar and in some cases presenting amazingly sophisticated concepts. The first one we looked at has a square footprint on the ground and then, through and octagonal form moves to a round 'dome' in precisely the same way you can seen in some ancient churches and mosques.Cosy is looking up into the 'dome'. Just above his head is the four larger flat

stones that cut the corners to go from square to octagonal. Below that stone and behind Cosmas the walls meet at a right angle.

The second 'Cadole' we visited has the local nickname of 'cathedral' and it's easy to see why. Its size and high roof make it stand out among these ancient structures. The 'cadoles' were clearly used as shelters for people working in the fields or perhaps standing guard on the walls. Today, it certainly looks like the cattle roaming the field beside the 'cathedral' use it to get out of the weather. In our calcuation it is three cows long and two wide. 

Day 4 and we are knee-deep in rasps and sandpaper except of course for Cosmas who's already there for the second time round, this time working on a little masterpiece. After thunderstorms during the night, our workplace was freshly washed of the stone dust and agreeably fresh in the morning. Our luck or St Clément's microclimapte, held for another day and, apart from a few strong gusts in the afternoon and a quick brush with a shower at the end of our working day, we stayed nice and dry.

More and more the pieces are emerging and I for one have discovered that I can happily sandpaper for two days. It's an almost zen-like experience and to my own suprise I didn't even for a second think, 'let's get this finished and done with!' You just move at your and the stone's pace and the reward may be a sheen and colour you never expected.

The lion, geometric forms, the chicken, the gothic lady and my warrior, let alone Cosy's little face and the freeform are all waiting for their final proof by fire and wax tomorrow.

Day two and things are definitely emerging from the stone. Sometimes it may not quite be what was originally intended but...Work is also slower now. After the first day of knocking awai big junks of stone we are now down to the smaller chisels and rasps. Cosmas keeps circulating among as giving advice as needed while letting us get our own feel. He is a very good teacher.

You hardly ever see him touch the stone and yet Cosmas is way ahead of us. Must ahve something to do with knowing what he deos :-D

Every now and again friends and visitors pop by to see the work in progress as here Annie's emerging chicken!

After a long and hot day, we went to Chapaize and had dinner with good friends in their garden enjoying wonderful food and wine. I get the feeling Cosmas rather likes the French country life.

Brilliant hot day. Summer is here and Cosmas and I have been polishing up the pieces in my garden. They look brilliant and alive again and the garden is lush and full of flowers - at least one good thing to the months of rain...