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Origin and history

The Tourracque de Lacouture, also known as the Brian Mas pile, is a Gallo-Roman tower located in Biran, Gers. This funerary monument, especially well preserved, has kept almost all its trimming and niche, but its summit part has disappeared. A pen, probably a funeral, extends at its foot. Ranked a historic monument in 1875, it is now owned by the commune after having belonged to the state since 1869.

The battery is 11.20 m high and rests on a rectangular base of 5.02 × 3.72 m. It consists of a blocking core covered with a regular honeycomb device. An upper niche, arched in cul-de-four, opens southward and retains traces of red coating. The dating of the monument remains uncertain, probably between the 1st and the 3rd century, although Philippe Lauzun evokes the 2nd century.

In 1966, the Bureau d'architecture antique du Sud-Ouest, headed by Jean Lauffray, conducted a survey of the pile and surveys at its foot. Another pile, now destroyed, was less than 20 m north. Unidentified Gallo-Roman remains are said to have been found more than 500 m away, but their nature remains unknown.

The stack is associated with a funerary enclosure, suggesting that it was dedicated to memory of a notable local. An undated Roman sword and key were discovered near the destroyed pile. No in-depth searches were conducted on the enclosures, limiting knowledge of its exact use.

Located on the right bank of the Bay, the pile stands in a cultivated field, near the old national road 639 (now D939). It illustrates Gallo-Roman funerary architecture typical of Occitanie and Gascony, where these monuments are called tourracs or tourrasses.

Owned by the State since 1869, the pile was transferred to the municipality of Biran by convention in 2007. Its state of conservation makes it one of the most remarkable piles of Gers, testifying to funeral practices and the social organization of the Gallo-Roman era.

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