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Origin and history

Castrum du Castlar, also known as castrum de Durfort, is a former medieval fortified village in Tarn, Occitanie. Placed on the heights of Durfort, halfway through Berniquaut's puech, it overlooks an ancient oppidum. This strategic site, founded in the 13th century, was protected by a enclosure and dry moat, extending over 3,400 m2. It included a castle, terraced houses, and grain elevators, but no church, perhaps reflecting the local Cathar influence.

According to the sources, the castrum was founded by the family of the lords of Roquefort, vassals of the Trencavel, after a donation of land by Roger I. Trencavel in 1141. Isarn de Castlar, cited between 1142 and 1153, was one of the first historical witnesses. In the 13th century, the village grew rapidly, attracting inhabitants of the nearby castrum Berniquaut, then in decline. During the crusade of the Albiges, the lords of Roquefort, like Jourdain de Roquefort, supported the Cathar party, protecting the perfects in Castlar, without the site being directly destroyed.

After the Trencavels were submitted in 1246, the castrum passed under royal control. In 1257, Alphonse de Poitiers confiscated part of the Roquefort lands, accused of heresy, to give them to the Abbey of Sorèze. As early as 1274, a new town emerged below, becoming the economic center, while the Castlar declined. The black plague and the big companies in the 14th century accelerated its definitive abandonment. Today, nothing remains but ruins, excavated between 1976 and 1992, revealing foundations and artifacts like a burning attic.

The site, registered with the historical monuments in 1996, offers a rare testimony of the organization of a medieval castrum. Its modest houses, built of local stone (schist and limestone), exploited the relief on terraces. The castle at the top consisted of a tower, a seigneurial house and a lower courtyard. The absence of church is explained by the lack of space and cathar influence. Grain elevators, dug in rock, emphasize its agricultural and defensive role.

Archaeological excavations helped to better understand daily life in the Middle Ages, notably through the study of carbonized seeds in the burning attic. This castrum illustrates the settlement dynamics and religious conflicts of the time, as well as the decline of perched sites in favour of accessible villages. Its remains, private property, still overlook the present village of Durfort.

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