By Katie Williams, 2024 postdoctoral scholar, Crow Canyon Research Institute

Representatives from Crow Canyon were incredibly fortunate and honored to have the opportunity to attend and present at the 17th Colloquium of Saint-Martin-le-Vieil, an international archaeology conference held at the Abbey Villelongue, in the town of Saint-Martin-le-Vieil in the south of France on October 12th and 13th. The Abbey Villelongue was constructed in the 12th century by the Cistercian Order, which makes it roughly contemporaneous with the East Great House at Haynie (or slightly earlier than Betatakin). It was an incredibly beautiful place to have a conference.

The colloquium was organized by Dr. Marie-Elise Gardel, sponsored by the Amicale Laique de Carcassonne, and supported by the Association Les Cruzels of Saint-Martin-le-Vieil. The first colloquium in the series was held in 2005 and since then the annual event has brought together cultural heritage experts and enthusiasts who specialize primarily in stone architecture and art, and particularly focus on subterranean or semi-subterranean contexts such as caves or alcoves. Presenters at the 17th colloquium shared projects that covered a very broad geographic and temporal extent, ranging from a rock-cut church high on a cliff face in Ethiopia to stone quarries and mines in France with inscriptions produced by American and British World War II soldiers. Many of the presentations focused on documentation, condition assessment, and material conservation. Presenters also talked about topics such as the impact of tourism on UNESCO World Heritage sites, connections between present-day communities and places of cultural heritage, and understanding the role of kinship connections in construction.

We were honored to be the first Americans to present at the colloquium and, along with our friend and colleague Dr. Radek Palonka of Jagellonian University in Krakow, to be the first to share information on the U.S. Southwest with the conference attendees. Dr. Palonka gave a presentation summarizing recent work to document archaeological communities and rock inscriptions within Canyons of the Ancients National Monument area. Dr. Ryan presented on the Northern Chaco Outliers Project and provided some context for archaeology in the U.S. Southwest, especially with respect to collaborative engagement with descendant communities. She also spoke about Crow Canyon and our mission as an organization, which has much in common with the mission of the Amicale Laique de Carcassonne. Katie Williams, Crow Canyon postdoctoral scholar, gave a presentation on her dissertation research on the Tsegi Phase (A.D. 1250–1300) architecture at Betatakin and Keet Seel, Navajo National Monument.

The town of Saint-Martin-le-Vieil sits partially above cave-like grottoes which were cut into the limestone by the town occupants in the 9th century. These are called “cruzels” and on the second day of the conference we were able to visit one of these.

Many of the cruzels are still used by families living in Saint-Martin-le-Vieil, often as storage areas. In the cruzel that we visited, Dr. Gardel showed us two different internal partition walls, one dating to the Middle Ages. The buildings of Saint-Martin-le-Vieil are, in some places, threatened by these cruzels because the roofs of the grottoes are cracking and in danger of collapse. This is an ongoing concern for the town. Many of the cruzels have not been photographed, though the Association Les Cruzels and Dr. Gardel would like to pursue 3D documentation.

We were also able to visit Carcassonne Castle. This castle has undergone significant stabilization and reconstruction, but portions date to Roman times and the many remodeling events over centuries are visible in the architecture. Dr. Gardel has conducted excavations inside the castle and shared some of her findings with us. It was incredible to see the castle with her.

The day after the conference, Dr. Gardel took us to visit a place called Les Moussoulens (or, as she described it, a “mini-Betatakin”) near Carcassonne. This, much like Saint-Martin-le-Vieil, is a town that sits partially above a rock shelter. In this case, the castle sits above a natural rock overhang. In the 7th century, the occupants of the town built their homes in the alcove and lived there for generations, until eventually moving up to the cliff top above, where the castle sits today. While there was little in the way of standing architecture (rockfall is a major concern for this location), it was amazing to see intact beam rests, storage niches, and at least one partial earthen wall.

We are very grateful to have had such an amazing opportunity to participate in this conference and to have been able to share with and learn from such wonderful colleagues. It was incredible to see examples of alcove communities and houses from around the world as well as inscriptions, sculptures, and rock imagery in a variety of architectural contexts. We will keep in touch with the new friends and colleagues that we met at the conference and hope that perhaps some of them can come and visit the Southwest.

Photo Caption:

Photo at one the cruzels in Saint-Martin-le-Vieil. Pictured, from left to right: Dr. Radek Palonka, Dr. Marie-Elise Gardel, Dr. Susan Ryan, Katie Williams, and Dr. Kirsty Lilley.