Chapelle Saint Domnin

The dedication to Saint Domnin takes us back to the first evangelist of this land, who, with his comrade Saint Vincent, founded the bishopric of Digne at the end of the 4th century.

Also called Notre Dame du “fraïsse” (Our Lady of the ash tree), this church, accompanied by its cemetery, was the church of the fortified village and of the community until the 18th century. It was built on the edge of a hill oriented north-south, 200 metres long and 30 metres wide at an altitude of 1196 metres. It is probable that a tower and ditches used to protect the buildings. The construction began in the 11th century when villages were being locked in fortifications. After many deaths during the plague and Wars of Religion happening in the 15th century, the population settled near the Bès, in various hamlets : Boyessis, Le Serre, Le Bourguet and Les Jauberts, the last one becoming Verdaches. The castrum church was then abandoned and deteriorated through the years. The building is in the middle of the modern enclosed cemetery. To the east, in the embankment between the cemetery fence and the road, recent excavations found flagstone coffers. One of them had a woman skeleton in it with a shell, typical of pilgrims on the way of St James, allowing them to draw water from springs. A few intact ceramic containers were exhumed from some tombs.