history, viking stronghold, Brittany

[olivdudu]

Hello :)

I shot those pics this morning and unfortunately I had a lack of light, that is the reason why some pics are blurrish... :( (new camera coming very soon :) )

Next pics will be shot at ebb tide, which allow to see on a more accurate way, the former groundwork of this viking camp.

It is told that this viking settlement took place in the end of the 10th century,
it might have given shelter to 900 warriors and 18 drakkars. They tried to seize power in the Rance estuary and to get the locals in slavery but by chance didn't succeed. If this stronghold dates from year 1000, that means that this was the second Norsemen offensive against Brittany, for duke Alan al Louarn (Alan "the fox" Barbetorte) got rid of them a first time in year 937

There is not much about the viking settlement , there is a former camp at Peran near St brieuc. They didn't let a lot of testimonies in the local history except...but this is only a theory...the name and the shape of the local fishing boat (rows and sail) called the Chippe of St Suliac, the nearby village (my next AP target :D )
On the last photo, one can see the "Mont Garrot" (the headland) where was founded a monastery on the 6th century. There is hardly no remains except a few stones...and wild grape :D ...because the monks made wine at that time...The monastery was founded by Suliau (may be Suliaw...for he was Welsh) and gave his name to the nearby village of Saint Suliac.


next photos in a fortnight, when back from work, weather permitting :(

Bye

olivier

[kd7ost]

Nice pictures and history Olivier. Is it possible to aim the camera straight down for nadir (vertical) pictures? It would be nice to see the outline of the place at low tide.

Also, do you have any ideas why the place is underwater today but wasn't so in the 10th century?

Dan

[olivdudu]

Hello Dan,

I can't take vertical photos with the RCplane I used then, but I could do some shoots with my former "JSdrone" fitted with a small 1,3mp aiptek. I will have a try soon :) . If you are interrested in map making, here is a very good link: http://geoportail.fr/

The whole national territory had been APed in 2003 and you can freely have sharp looks all over France with a very high accuracy. This helps me finding areas to fly from (and most of all...to land ... :D )

I don't know if the sea level in the estuary has changed a lot for the last centuries, the fact is that the La Rance electrical dam has changed more or less the streams in that part of the river. The main problem is that the Rance river is silting up . I don't remember how it was before, for the dam was built in 66...I was quite young at that time :D

here are pics of the plane i use

Cheers

Olivier

[Tom Harper]

olivier,

Wonderful topic. There seems to be a lot of material outside of the wall. With such difficult access your photos might allow some serious mapping.

I look forward to your next posts.

Tom

[olivdudu]

Thank you Tom,

next pics in 10 days more or less... I'll be off web one week from tomorrow :(
But on the same time , i'll AP in the neighbourhood of Utah Beach on my way to work ;)

Bye

olivier

[quailbird]

Wonderful subject and pictures Olivier! Looking forward to more. The land around the camp, was it higher during their time? Since it's flooded now?