NEED TO KNOW
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Archaeologists in France were surprised to unearth the ruins of the Château de l’Hermine, a castle built in the 1380s
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The National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research found the castle beneath Hôtel Lagorce in Vannes
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The castle belonged to Duke John IV of Brittany
A medieval castle built in the 1380s was unearthed in France.
Archaeologists were surprised to find the ruins of the Château de l’Hermine, a castle built by Duke John IV of Brittany in the 14th century, beneath the courtyard of private mansion Hôtel Lagorce in Vannes in 2021.
Two years later in 2023, according to a press release from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), excavations took place ahead of the construction of the Vannes Museum of Fine Arts to better understand the extent of the castle’s remains.
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“The excavations have revealed the ducal residence and its ornate façade, various rooms, and circulation areas, including several staircases.” INRAP wrote in the release, translated from French. “Archaeologists unexpectedly uncovered the ground floor of an imposing building, which they excavated to a height of one meter and which corresponds to the ducal residence.”
Emmanuelle Collado, Inrap
INRAP’s description of the discovery continued, “A central passageway connects the north gate, located in the facade facing the town, to another gate flanked by two large towers built on the city wall and identified on old maps, overlooking the outer moat.”
The ground floor spanned 42 meters long and 17 meters wide with thick walls reaching as high as 5.6 meters high.
“Directly bordered by a moat, it is flanked to the east by what can be described as a ‘square tower,’ ” INRAP noted, adding that archaeologists deduced that “the castle must therefore have had three or even four stories.
The excavations also uncovered well-preserved objects.
Emmanuelle Collado, Inrap
“They yielded numerous objects related to daily life at the castle: coins, jewelry, and cooking utensils (pots, pans, roasting spits, etc.) dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as several wooden items (bowls, barrel fragments, etc.) preserved thanks to the damp environment,” INRAP said.
The state of the remains indicate that “John IV surrounded himself with the best engineers and craftsmen of the time,” INRAP concluded.
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