The Land of Volcanoes.

Everywhere you go and look; there are masses of basalt rock, pozzolan deposits and tuff igneous rock. Let’s go back to the origins of volcanism. Two million years ago, a vast layer of dark lava covered the light existing granites, and then the Loire River carved out a valley running along this complex to the east. The Devès hills emerge on the surface of this plateau. These hills, called ‘Gardes’ in French, have long served as observation points, hence the surprising name Guard.

Basalt is the type of rock that constitutes the Brignon volcanic plateau. This stone was extracted, for use in all sorts of construction, from the edge of the plateau overlooking the Loire valley (les Salles). Small quarries exploited on the edge of the plateau offered all shapes and sizes of basalt to the inhabitants who worked together to extract and cut the basalt. The distance covered with the loads, from quarry to the final destination, was a few kilometres.

Tombstones made of stone slabs.

Dark gray basalt is a prominent feature in this old cemetery. You will come across it as slabs that are either thicker or thinner, which are the basis for certain tombstones, crosses where small cavities in the volcanic rock (vesicular basalt) can be seen and bases supporting metal crosses. You will come across it as slabs that are either thicker or thinner, which are the basis for certain tombstones, crosses where small cavities in the volcanic rock (vesicular basalt) can be seen and bases supporting metal crosses. The cemetery wall is also built of small blocks of darker basalt.

Six-sided basalt columns, volcanic ‘organ pipes’, were also used. Basalt comes from the cooling of a lava flow. As the lava began to cool, the columns were formed and above, the slabs, the upper part keeping traces of volcanic gases (vesicular basalt).

Basaltic organs pipes are these multi-sided prisms typical of Vellavien volcanism; we can find them in the construction of ox-shoeing stocks, door transoms, cornerstones or village bread ovens.

Other types of stone were used during the 19th century. These are Blavozy sandstone made up of mineral grains, visible to the naked eye, and grey Monnac trachyte (from the Saint Julien Chapteuil area). The heavy tombstones had to be transported with oxen carts.

Limestone rock from the Rhône valley was often used from the 1880s. Transport by train facilitated its arrival at Le Puy-en-Velay railway station. The white limestone steles were then transported by ox-carts to their final destination.

From 1913 to 1920, limestone and arkose were transported to Le Brignon railway station, once the Puy-Langogne railway line had been opened.

The information you are reading is engraved on trachyte, a volcanic rock which comes from the Pinet quarries in Chamalières-sur-Loire.