Bories of Provence

 Animal pen attached to borie

 rear view of borie

 Construction detail

 Arched door

 Borie construction over a well

 (click on any picture to enlarge image)

View looking out.

Bories dot the countryside in France.  They are unique structures built a long time ago.  Essentially they are shelters where a shepherd could seek shelter from storms as well as have a temporary place to sleep while staying with his flock.

Many bories had a bed for the shepherd and room for the animals (sheep, goats) to come into the borie.  Some had animal pens attached as well.  This particular one had a well, and a mini-borie built over the well.

They are largely unused now, or used for utility sheds, however they provide a colorful insight to the history of Provence.

A Borie Among the Forsythia

In the background you will see a quaint stone structure. It is called a borie. They were built to house both the sheep and the shepherd in inclement weather. In the tight quarters, there is usually a very small loft where the shepherd sleeps and the animals congregate in the shelter below.

Built of fieldstone during the idle hours of watching sheep, bories dot the entire countryside of Provence in old alpine meadows.

The Borie

This is a borie. They are storm shelters for shepherds and their animals that are ancient. The borie is built such that the animals enter the borie, and the shepherd has a small loft up top where he sleeps.