So what are these ๐บ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒฬ๐ that can be seen in Geneva not far from the banks of Cologny, Le Reposoir or Le Vengeron? They are veritable flooded architectural constructions, forming sublacustrine landscapes worthy of a true-to-life Atlantis!
However, these are not the remains of dwellings, but the remains of ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒฬ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ'๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป an exceptional stone: ๐น๐ฎ ๐บ๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ. Indeed, from the 14th to the 18th century, this stone was quarried in abundance because, ๐ฟ๐ฒฬ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฒฬ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒฬ ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒฬ ๐ฑ'๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒฬ๐, it was used extensively in large-scale projects such as the ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น, ๐น๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒฬ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐-๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น'๐๐ผฬ๐๐ฒ๐น-๐ฑ๐ฒ-๐ฉ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ.
On the other hand, the extraction technique was no picnic.
At the time, extraction only took place ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐น๐พ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐น'๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, period during which the lake level could ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐๐๐พ๐'๐ฎฬ ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฒฬ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐, making the coveted rock accessible.
The quarrymen's work consisted of isolating the quarrying area, drawing water from within the area, sawing pits up to 3 metres deep and then ๐ฑ๐ฒฬ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ into the stone, depending on demand. We can then imagine the ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒฬ๐ป๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ that these workers on Lake Geneva had to perform, in the piercing cold of winter and the dampness of the lake.
Nowadays, these submerged lake workings offer a backdrop that is certainly immobile, but rich with all the history that makes them up, demonstrating once again ๐น'๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฒฬ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐พ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐น'๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป, and have been for centuries.
Photo credits: Kai Taimsalu
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