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Origin and history

The Tower of the Pech Cross, located in Sarlat-la-Canéda, has an architectural structure close to the lantern of the dead in the same city. Built mainly in the 12th and 17th centuries, it is distinguished by its roof made up of cut stones separated by prominent stubs. Originally, its summit could have adopted a conical form of sugar bread, which has now disappeared. The interior reveals square wall openings, too large for dovecotes, suggesting instead storage niches. A wooden floor once divided the floors, while the doors and windows, as well as the partial colonnade of the coronation, date from the seventeenth century.

The exact use of the tower remains debated: tradition evokes a hermitage, but its proximity to a cemetery and its typical shape point towards a function of lantern of the dead, a medieval funeral monument intended to guide souls by lights. The 17th century changes (doors, windows, colonnade) indicate a subsequent re-appropriation, perhaps linked to a change of vocation. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1961, the tower is today a private property inaccessible to the public, preserving its mystery.

The constructive similarities with Sarlat's lantern of dead — such as the assembly of roof stones — reinforce the hypothesis of a funeral bond. However, the absence of contemporary written sources leaves uncertainty about its initial function. The small wall cupboards and the absence of traces of domestic fittings (like a chimney) partially shake the hermitage theory, although the oral tradition perpetuates it.

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