Auzat – not a cricket tale

We drove onwards to Auzat. Of course the visitor centre was closed for lunch, so we wandered round the streets. We had wondered about the super-huge sports ground that we had seen from up on the hill. We found out that the village had once had a thriving Aluminium smelting plant, employing many people. There was even a short walk along the Chemain de L’Alum complete with information boards and sculptures / bits of machines.
We found a small café by the river and sat and had a drink, waiting for the centre to open.
Not a lot was going on, and it was very peaceful. Even the unhappy child cheered up as her bottle of coke arrived at the table.
Here is a photo of the river.

We finally managed to pay our money and have a look at items excavated from Montreal de Sos. There was not much evidence of 13 thousand items. There was only one glass case with some rusty objects, including nails, bits of blade etc. There were enlargements of some pictures which had been scratched onto bits of slate, and ditto an old board game. I don’t expect that the children or adults who made these marks sometime between 500 and 700 years ago, would have dreamed that their work would be seen in the 21st century.
If only I’d scratched my blog on slates......... Perhaps it’s not to late to start now?
Most of the exhibits related to the way of life of the shepherds, farmers and other ways of life in this hilly region of France. It’s a different world, things just ain’t the same.