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Origin and history

The castle of Teillan, located in Aimargues in the Gard (Occitanie), has its origins in an estate called "Grand-Teillan", distinct from "Petit-Teillan" (now the farmhouse of Praviel in the 19th century). Its history is linked to a nearby Roman castrum, the villa Telianum (or Theline), occupied from the 1st to the 6th century, then to the 10th–XIIth centuries, with its church Saint Silvestre located 2 km northeast. This site, searched since the 1990s, reveals an ancient and early medieval occupation, prior to the construction of the present castle.

From the 10th century, Teillan belonged to the Viscounts Aton, Counts of Carcassonne and Razès, before becoming a dependency of the Abbey of Psalmody until the end of the 16th century. In 1608, Philippe de Bornier, king's adviser, acquired the estate and added a Renaissance door and a 1500 nest pigeon house, dated around 1600. The castle, a place of Protestant worship recognized by the edict of Nantes, then passed to the family of Adhemar in the eighteenth century. Prefect Pierre Melchior of Adhémar died there in 1821.

The castle park, built in the 19th century, houses a lapidary collection assembled in the 17th century by Simon de Bornier (authorization obtained in 1635), including eight or nine Roman miles probably related to the Domitian Way, ancient steles, a noria of 1609, and a mikveh. The castle, inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1995, preserves architectural elements from the 16th-17th centuries, such as 15th century vaults on the ground floor and a 17th century door with bosses. The communes, transformed between 1820 and 1875, frame an inner courtyard accessible by a vaulted passage.

During the Revolution, the castle suffered damage in 1793 (destruction of a turret, rebuilt in 1873, and of the fortified east gate). In the 19th century, the facades, coronations and commons were redesigned, while the noria, fed by an underground aqueduct connected to the Vidourle, operated until the 1920s to irrigate the gardens. An oral tradition evokes an underground linking the castle to the Abbey of Psalmodia, although this remains unconfirmed.

Today, the castle is privately owned and visited during the summer and European Heritage Days. Its landscaped park, classified with its furniture (steles, pillars, 17th century remains), bears witness to the superimposition of the eras, from Roman antiquity to the 18th to 19th century developments. Archaeological studies, such as those of Hervé Petitot (1994) or Arnaud de Cazenove (1980), highlight its heritage importance in the Gard.

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