More information in English will soon be available
Le Filon des Anciens is a very small organization whose members all contribute on a voluntary basis… This, combined with the lack of English natives among our members, is the reason why the translation of our articles is far from being completed …
Should you be willing to contribute to this long-term job, please feel free to contact us!
A mysterious silvermine
In 1847, a quarter of the French silver production came from a refinery built in the Luech valley, close to Vialas, a village situated in the Cevennes National Park. Miners extracted galena, a lead ore containing silver, from galleries dug in the mountain. The ore was then processed with the help of the momentum of the rivers. All day long, the valley echoed with the hammering of the “bocard” (stamp mill), a device designed to crush stones. Engineers and workmen, some of them from afar, increased the village’s population, leading to setting up new shops and creating a junior high school.
At the end of the 19th century, the price of silver dropped and the refinery was abandoned. The site was given back to birds’ chirping and rivers’ babbling. A lush vegetation overran the stone vaults, giving a romantic charm to this spectacular survivor of industrial architecture, and the French nickname “Mine au bois dormant”
Some years ago, eager to revive the rich past of the village, a couple of Vialas’ natives founded an association, Le Filon des Anciens, with the desire to awaken the refinery and attach it to a museum.
Today, a discovery footpath, waymarked and secure, sneaks its way through pines and impressive ruins, giving the visitor an opportunity to discover this site, listed as a site of Monuments historiques, and to understand how the rock was transformed into silver lingots.
Excavations at the Bocard Site – 2023
