Up early to walk before getting on the boat, we saw a grape-picking machine in action. These machines are able to pick large quantities of grapes in a short amount of time - we were amazed at the speed it moved down the row. They empty their steel containers into a waiting wagon that takes them immediately to the winery to be pressed.
Our first stop today was at Capestang, another village with an amazing cathedral. We then headed through the Malpas Tunnel, a one-way affair where luckily we followed another boat through so there were no worries about running into someone going the other way. We moored right after the tunnel, and hiked to a lookout point, archaeological sie and museum.
The viewpoint looks down upon the drainage system that occupies a star-shaped plot of land. When Montady Lake was drained in the 13th century, the water was directed toward a central discharge point where it was conveyed along an underground stone passageway about 1.5 km long and then directed under the Malpas to the lakes located to the south.
At the top of the hill, are the archaeological finds associated with the discovery of a hilltop village characteristic of the Celtic world of southern Gaul. It was probably settled in the 6th to 5th century BC by the Gauls, who were then conquered by the Romans in 50 BC. Artifacts date primarily between the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD.
The necropolis had some 500 incineration graves and was one of the largest Gallic burial sites in southern France. The deceased were cremated on a pyre and their ashes were collected in an ossuary vase, around which were arranged personal belongings and food offerings.
We arrived in Colimbiers and moored at the port, safely in before a brief rain.
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