Inrap archaeological excavations at Bouteville Castle, Charente
Bouteville: archaeological digs challenge assumptions about the medieval wall
In Charente, the second dig season by Inrap at Bouteville Castle has uncovered no trace of the expected medieval wall, but instead revealed previously unknown foundations that are rewriting the site’s history.
Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux ·
For three weeks in 2026, a team of around fifteen volunteers excavated the grounds surrounding Bouteville Castle in Charente, under the direction of Adrien Montigny, an archaeologist from Inrap attached to the Poitiers Archaeological Centre. As the second phase of a three-year excavation programme, this season had a clear goal: to locate the medieval castle’s defensive wall. But the ground had other plans. The wall was nowhere to be found where it was expected, and instead, foundations of previously unknown buildings emerged in its place.
“You begin with a mental map, a problem to solve, and you address it. But it’s the ground that guides you.”
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