Andone Castle

The Andone Castrum is a ruined fortification in Villejoubert, Charente, France and dates from the 11th century. The site was occupied by an Iron Age necropolis, and then by a Gallo-Roman villa which was abandoned in the 4th century.

Andone Castle history

The residence is thought to have been founded by members of the family of counts of Angouleme, related to the Carolingian dynasty.

Andone Castrum was most likely occupied from around 970–980 until 1028. The site may have been abandoned in part due to lack of a water supply or to the cramped interior.

The site has been relatively undisturbed since being abandoned and excavations have given useful insights into daily life around the year 1000 in an aristocratic home. The fort has been classified Monument historique since 13 August 1986.

The site was identified for the first time in the nineteenth century but it was not until the early 1970s that the excavations are undertaken. The castrum was fully excavated by André Debord between 1971 and 1995, which, because of his sudden death in 1996, could not publish on its behalf the results of its 24 years of excavations, then by Luc Bourgeois in 2004-2005.

Andone Castle today

Currently, the site is again overgrown and access is no longer indicated.

Findings from the site include coins, tools, weapons, many horse fittings, small glass vessels, flat glass plates, furniture of stone, bone and wood, ceramic vessels and small earthenware objects. There is evidence of weaving and a smithy, with abundant metal objects. These include ironwork from doors, furniture and chests. The weapons do not include swords or lances, and suggest hunting rather than combat. Locally made chess pieces give evidence of an aristocratic lifestyle.

Getting to Andone Castle

Castrum d’Andone is a fortified complex located in the department of Charente, on the border of the town of Villejoubert in Angoumois.