10th-century knight's house found in France

Once again, I cannot find any other mention of this story from La Repubblica. Here's our translation of the essentials:

An aristocratic medieval residence built before the beginning of the Capetian dynasty (AD 987) has been found during exploratory excavations near a branch of the Dordogne river at Pineuilh in the Gironde. According to archeologists, the site is the second of its type known, the first being that of 'Chavarines' near Lake Paladru, discovered at the end of the 1970s, which gave historians their first direct view of the life of country knights c. 1000, at the dawn of feudalism. . .

The site at Pineuilh would seem to represent a similar dwelling. About a meter deep, the archeologists have found a platform of earth and the remains of a half-dozen oak columns 40 cm in diameter, which would have supported a wooden structure. But the greatest importance lies in the thousands of objects and fragments found preserved in the muddy soil. Among these: two pawns from a chess set; remains of leather shoes; a ceramic oliphant; wooden plates; iron spearheads; a comb; belt buckles; hunting ornaments; and knife blades.

Posted by David on April 23, 2003 2:09 PM