July 2008
Photo exhibition at Commarque, “A 40-Year Passion”

From July 4, a photographic exhibition in the castle chapel, showing the site in the past and as it is now, will enable you to see the work that has been accomplished and the extraordinary extent of the castle’s rescue from oblivion.

It is nearly 40 years since Hubert de Commarque decided to save the castle which bears his family name. Abandoned at the beginning of the 17th century, buried under earth and trees, it had seemed fated to disappear for ever;  only the keep and the chapel’s belfry wall were still visible. Even before Hubert de Commarque became its proprietor in 1972, he and voluntary helpers cleared the vegetation from the parts of the site that were still accessible. Despite lack of financial support, he did the job in double-quick time and undertook a large-scale shoring-up operation. Since then, further clearing, consolidation and the repair of walls have continued without break. Thanks to this enormous work of restoration, the site emerged progressively from the undergrowth enveloping it. A new turning-point came in 1996, when a programme of “digs” was started in order to get a real understanding of this extraordinary fortress, once home to several titled families. Then, in 2000, the Kléber Rossillon private company prepared the site for opening it to the public, ensuring that it was shown to best advantage while at the same time taking care to preserve its authenticity. Today, it is “a ‘must’ archaeological site”, in a protected area which still combines nature with human history. Further recoveries are made every year, gradually uncovering alleyways, flights of steps carved in the rock and the remains of once-engulfed houses…

2007
Further work of clearance and consolidation
Thanks to new means of access established during the winter, passage through the Escars tower becomes possible, as well as visits to the buttressed house.

2006
Octobre - October – assembly of the St-Georges company
The St-Georges company, an internationally-famed group specialising in reconstructing historic scenes, installed its medieval camp for a week at the foot of the castle.

August – outcome of the “digs”
Having studied the boundaries of each separate property within the fortress perimeter, archaeologists reached the conclusion that every aristocratic family living on the site had its own protected access and its own defences. Commarque, therefore, was a “co-lordship”, uniting individual interests which were mutually defended when danger threatened. This kind of castle organisation is found only in the southern part of France. At the entry to the site, a new semi-troglodytic dwelling has been entirely uncovered and may be visited.

2005
Turning-points
Almost 30 years after Ridley Scott, Commarque’s ambience was exploited by Martin Belby and Loïc Moreau as a location for their first film, “Bed and Breakfast”.

In May, Sylvain Augier and the “Carte au Trésor” team, from the France 3 television channel, installed their cameras in the castle to film several sequences for their summer programmes.

2004
Outcome of the “digs”
A reconstruction of the living conditions in a " cluzeau " from the XVth and XVIth century will be shown from May. This large cave dwelling is composed of a sheepfold, stables and several residential spaces with alcoves. Pottery, bedding, various utensils and the workshop of a basketmaker are to be discovered. Those who like chess can pick up a game that was interrupted in 1250 ! The game is played on a chessboard that was engraved on a window seat at that time with copies of medieval chesspieces.
Excavation Program
The total excavation of the tower of the of Jehan des Escars to analyze its medieval fittings. Clearing of the barbican in order to understand its system of defense.

2002
Outcome of the “digs”
The garbage dump from the kitchen of Pons de Beynac has been found. From 1388, this young lord raised Commarque Castle to the highest level, from where he went to represent the authority of the King of France as seneschal of Perigord. The fragments of crockery found (jugs, pitchers, bowls) and drinking glasses bear witness to his lifestyle. On his menu, other than a pronounced taste for piglets and fatted chickens, cattle, sheep and horse remains have been discovered, as well as the remains of stags hunted in the woods of Commarque.