It would be disrespectful to compare lay brothers and stone cutters with wild boars. But as they say, where there is a will, there is a way. And they certainly had that in common. The landscape as memory is a concept that resonates deeply with the creation of such structures.
The Abbey of Sénanque (12th-13th C.) took about 60 years to build. The distance from the stone quarry in Oppède-le-Vieux to the yard on the river Sénancole is approximately 17km on foot. (explanatory animation in another blogpost) What once started as a forest path must have quickly grown into a decent road. Along the way, the landscape most certainly was thoroughly reformed by the continuous transport of stones. And, how long does a dry stone wall last? Chances are we’re looking at an artefact of mayba 800 years old!
In considering the Abbey of Sénanque, one reflects on the landscape as memory, intertwining history and nature.
I’m just speculating when I see the breach in the dry stone wall where wild boars, coming from the mountain, have made a passage to look for water in the valley during dry periods. Once the goal is in mind, everyone chooses the easiest and shortest route. The landscape as memory serves as a reminder of the paths taken.
Nadine Gordimer, writer, Nobel Prize for literature 1991
“Time is change; we measure its passage by how things alter.”
“Time is change; we measure its passage by how things alter.”
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