Door to Antiquity?

Welcome to Les Bories. While bories and their equivalents can be found all over the world, this borie is in a national historic site outside the Provencal village of Gordes. An enclave of these stone structures is preserved there. This borie was a dwelling; others were used for keeping livestock, storing grain, as bake houses, and for silkworm production. The huts have minimal windows making them dark, but the ones used as houses have built in ledges for sitting and sleeping, stone shelves for storage and fireplaces for cooking, making them quite accommodating for living. I can imagine, tho, that they were very cold in the winter. The borie doors may have been covered with either wood or hides to keep out the mistral as well as wandering critters. It's unknown how long ago these huts were inhabited, but the site may have been in use as early as the 7th century. Some bories date back to before Christ!

The history lover in me shivered with delight when I walked through these stone doors into a world of antiquity.