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There are
traces of these fisheries, in the census of
2 frimaire, year III (November 22, 1794). It
mentions a Jean Delmas, called “Carelle”, a fisherman who carried on his activity in the
caves.
That says little!
Taking into account the layout of the place,
we can suppose that the strategies for
catching fish could be as follows:
When the Dordogne floods, water invades the
caves carrying along fish. It is then
sufficient for fishermen to seal the entries
of the caves to keep the fish captive.
In the spawning season, fish come up the
river. To catch them, we guess that the
fishermen spread nets upstream and
downstream from the fisheries, and that men
in boats scared the fish toward the caves.
Cross-pieces, kinds of paddle boards were
laid out in grooves in the riverbed, visible
at the entry of the cave.
The remains of built-up parts lead to us
imagine that there were pond tanks, in which
the fish were preserved.
On the walls of the cave you can see
inscriptions of the names of three men of
the maquis:
-Mr. Maxime Lavergne
-Mr. Maurice Loupias, sub-prefect of
Bergerac
-Mr. Gueylard Yves, school teacher
Numerous stalactites adorn this cave.
These fisheries are probably unique in the
Dordogne valley. Important clearing work is
planned. |
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