Sites & cities that bear the name of La Teste-de-Buch

La Teste-de-Buch

Today in : France
First trace of activity : ca. 5th century C.E
Last trace of activity : today
Recorded names : La Testa in Bogio, La Teste, Cap de Buch, La Tèsta de Bug

Description : La Teste-de-Buch (Occitan: La Tèsta de Bug) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is located on the south shore of Arcachon Bay, lying in the southwestern part of Gironde. As required by law in the case of real estate transactions involving excavations, recent excavations have been carried out by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) on the sites concerned. Several excavation campaigns were therefore carried out between 2005 and 2013 in the village of La Teste itself. In 2010, vestiges of the Bronze Age were discovered there , indicating an occupation of the area to around 1500 BC. JC. The INRAP teams were also interested in examining the coastal zone south of Pilat where the advance of the dunes inland had brought to light traces of ancient habitat. In 2012, two cut flints were discovered near Petit Nice; identified as Paleolithic, they would date to 30,000 years a human presence 5 in a habitat much further from the coast than its current situation might suggest, due to dune movement and coastal erosion. Ancient period, the Boiates The history of La Teste is deeply linked to that of the Pays de Buch and Landes Gascony . Attested Traces of settlement in the region date from the viii th century BC. AD when the Boïates , people of Aquitaine , settled around the bay of Arcachon. The small ramifications leading into the bay of Arcachon are the seat of small ports. The most important port is that of Boïos, the main center of the Boïates people. According to Antonin's itinerary , Boïos who disappeared, was located at the mouth of the Leyre in a place close to the current town of Biganos. The Boïates practice fishing, hunting, breeding, cultivating the land and probably already the vine. By exploiting the resources of the forest, they perfected the first tapping techniques and developed the manufacture of pitch, used for the interior and exterior sealing ( caulking ) of boat hulls, obtained by baking the resin in ovens in Earth. Place important Boïos was the seat of a bishop from the iii th century. Towards the v th century, the Vandalsdestroy by fire half of the heavily wooded country. Forced to flee from the dunes that the fire had made mobile, the Boïates founded a new village at the foot of the dunes which was later called "Cap-de-Buch". The name of the Boïates was transformed into that of the “Bougés”. The destruction by fire of the reconstituted forests again made mobile the dunes threatening the group of dwellings of Cap-de-Buch. The Bougès once again rebuilt their village further east where La Teste-de-Buch

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