Château d'Ebbo

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château d'Ebbo is a fortified site whose remains stand on a rocky promontory overlooking the entrance to the Ardèche gorges, south-east of the village of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc. Its name was given to the nearby cave, the Grotte d'Ebbou (or Grotte du Château d'Ebbo), known for its parietal engravings. The area is mentioned in medieval deeds as early as 1243, and land transactions involving the lords of Châteauneuf and Lagorce are documented between 1279 and 1303. The remains visible today, which are difficult to date precisely, are generally attributed to a 16th-century stronghold; a feudal survey (dénombrement) of 1464 mentions several houses and fifteen "chazaux" (peasant dwellings) established below the castle, evidence of a clustered settlement protected by an enclosure wall. The site occupied the highest point of a fortified complex that encompassed a village core. Privately owned, the Château d'Ebbo is not open to visitors; only ruins survive today on the slopes of the promontory.