164 - The Marsillac plain (waymark no. 13)

Rural housing and farms: Rural housing responds mainly to farming needs. Its layout and size are tied to the type of activity on the plateau: livestock rearing and/or small-scale mixed farming. Rarely designed and built in one go, the block farm (ferme-bloc) is made up of a dwelling on one or two floors, set next to a barn-cowshed in line with it or at a right angle. The typical feature of this architecture is the particular position of the barn, on the first level, above the cowshed. It is reached by the montadou, a ramp under which the pigsty is built. The cart door is often protected by a large canopy resting on a stone column or a wooden post, the pountier. This overhang of the roof is needed for the winter flail-threshing sessions, held with the doors open because of the light and the dust. Climate constraints influence the orientation of the buildings. The north and west façades, exposed to the prevailing winds, have few openings and may be sheltered by a hedge. Doors and windows are placed on the east- and south-facing façades to get the maximum sunshine. The few west-facing orientations are due to restrictions on sightlines imposed by the position of the valley or the layout of the village. The barn-cowshed generally has few openings apart from the large entrance doors; only a few small windows (fenestrous) light it, without letting the cold in. The wall that encloses the farm in some villages marks out and protects the private space from the outside. The dark colour of the building stone, linked to the volcanic origin of the surface rocks, gives the Devès plateau its architectural originality.