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Origin and history

The Old Saint-Aubert is a medieval site from the 12th to the 14th centuries, located in the former commune of Saint-Aubert-sur-Orne, now integrated in Putanges-le-Lac (Orne, Normandy). It consists mainly of the remains of the church of the original village, abandoned after the transfer of the inhabitants in the nineteenth century. This move, initiated in the 1820s and accelerated in the 1860s, left the site as a "fossilized federal structure", thus preserving a rare archaeological heritage.

In 1824, the mayor and parish priest of Saint-Aubert-sur-Orne proposed to move the religious buildings to a new place, the Grande Cambre. The sale of the presbytery and its outbuildings in 1861 marked the completion of the transfer: there was only one working mill, an inn and a coal house in the Old Saint-Aubert. The site, registered with the Historical Monuments in 1992, now offers an exceptional testimony of the medieval village organization.

The remains, protected by decree of 14 September 1992, cover a cadastral complex (parks B 1 to 7). Although partially private, the site remains a reference for the study of Norman villages in the Middle Ages. Its approximate location (5000 Les Coutures) and its Insee code (61339) are administratively attached to the Orne, in the former Basse-Normandie.

Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) highlight its archaeological and historical interest, while noting the lack of accurate data on its occupation before the 12th century. The site is now closed to visit, but its heritage value makes it a subject of study for historians and archaeologists.

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