I am sure many of you will have numerous books relating to RLC. Most of course are in French and the majority probably date from the 70's or 80's. Illustrations in these books also date for the most part from that period but others are a great deal older with some also from the time of Saunière. It is interesting to compare those of the past with the RLC of today. In Saunière's day the land was more parched and more barren. Here and there a few bushes and shrubs,  some Rosemary, some Thyme, some wild flowers and really not much else. The essential ingredient of course was that the land, the actual geology could be clearly seen. When walking one would have been able to see the rocks at one's feet. For anyone in those days who would have been looking for landmarks or traces of past civilizations, it would have been a fairly simple matter to spot them. Today by comparison the land is richly verdant. Grass, shrubs, mosses, scrubby thickets and huge swathes of deciduous and coniferous forest cover the entire central region of the Aude. In fact the forests are so thick in places that from the roadside one can scarcely see more than a few meters beyond them. This of course means that land marks, stone carvings, burial mounds and all ancient traces of man are today buried under a deep layer of vegetation. Even the most expert of archaeologists would have trouble finding ancient remains. For the RLC researcher, the problem is even more enormous since we are none of us completely certain  as to what we are looking for in terms of landmarks or ancient remains. We know that Saunière and Boudet habitually walked these hills and it is fairly unlikely that this was purely for health reasons. The Garrigue as it is known locally is exceptionally difficult terrain to walk across. Even with the most expensive walking boots and the best will in the world you will be lucky to make more than a few miles in a day should you wish to leave the paths. We cannot be sure what it was they were looking for but if we too hope to walk these hills and chance upon the same things they saw, then our work is multiplied by a factor of several hundred. Even such common landmarks as "Le Fauteuil du Diable" and the "Source du Cercle" can be hard to find unless you know the path or have a friendly guide.

The village of RLC on the other hand is much as it has always been. Houses have been a little embellished,  there is a brand new modern Mairie, and the church itself has undergone a bit of a facelift. It has been repointed and cleaned and externally at least has undergone some repairs. Today it looks a lot like it would have done in the early days just after it had been built. The grounds around the church are also covered with luxuriant vegetation and the Billard Calvary for example is almost completely hidden. Within the church little has changed. The devil still stands guard at the entrance and this indeed may a be a good place to make a minor correction. The statue of the devil has often been referred to as being made from wood. In fact it is made from the same terracotta as are all the other statues in the church. What photos of the church do not convey is the smallness of the interior. There is a certain intimacy within the church and one could be forgiven for thinking you were in a private chapel, and indeed this is exactly what the church originally was. It was the private chapel of the Hautpoul Castle which is just a stone's throw distant. The original church was located about 100 meters away and was known as St. Pierre aux liens. In the 14th Century the village came under attack from a small army of Catalan mercenaries. It seems they were forearmed with excellent knowledge of the layout of the village fortifications. One of the towers in the ramparts right next to the church happened to contain the powder magazine and it was this that they immediately targeted.  After a couple of accurate cannon shots, the magazine exploded with devastating results and thus allowed the army to gain entrance to the village. Remarkably they ignored the rest of the village and instead made their way straight to the church of St. Pierre and to a vault that lay beneath it. Something was removed but unfortunately for us there is no record as to what it may have been. The vault still exists today but for several hundred years it had been used as a waste dump for all the leftovers after pressing grapes. Attempts were made to clear it but the volume of material is such that it would take machinery on an industrial scale to empty the chambers below.

The interior of the church at RLC has suffered to some extent from the ravages of time and the elements and just by the door there are some fairly alarming large cracks. But then after almost a thousand years I suppose some wear and tear is to be expected.

Following the somewhat recent archaeological excavations in and around the church it was disclosed that there was possibly one or two crypts below the church. Subsequent research with ground penetrating radar revealed this to the case. These investigations as well as their results are to me rather odd since only a few days after my arrival in the region and without making any particular enquiries,  it appeared that just about everyone in the village was aware of the existence of a crypt. Indeed an entrance to the crypt was always in plain view and available to anyone who would wish to enter. In recent years however the entrance has been definitively sealed thus denying access to this part of the church. Since this information came to light for me without the least effort one wonders why the team from the USA spent so much time, money and effort looking for something which anyone in the village would have told them of had they simply asked. I can only leave you to draw your own conclusions on this matter. The presence of the crypt as well as its entrance of course raises another fascinating question. We know from anecdotal information that during the early phase of reconstruction in the church, Saunière was handed a small glass phial found in newel post of the staircase leading to the belfry. Shortly after, he commissioned his builders to begin excavation right in the centre of the church at a place just about where the pulpit can be found today. Since we know there is a crypt below the church and also that Saunière would undoubtedly have known of the entrance to the crypt, why on earth would he dig a hole just here. This throws up some interesting speculations:

1. He removed something too large to be taken out via the crypt passage.

2. He placed something in the crypt that was too large to put in any other way.

As to the residents of the crypt, well they are the Hautpoul family and we can be fairly certain that it is their ancestral resting place. We cannot be sure how many generations are interred there but being an ancient family one may guess a considerable number. The graveyard is well tended and by comparison with other parts of the church grounds, looks positively barren. There is not even a weed growing there.  What is interesting to note is that the cemetery boundary on the opposite side of the church actually ends abruptly at a vertical drop of some 20 feet or so. It may well be worth mentioning that the Saunière tomb has been violated on so many occasions that the cemetery is now closed to all. I was there recently with a German Film company and even after having paid a large sum for filming rights, they too were denied access to the cemetery. I fear this area may be off limits indefinitely.

Below the ramparts of RLC can be seen the ruins of two towers. These have been frequently described as Visigothic towers. They are in fact 19th century windmills and the region is positively festooned with them.

Tourism is now of course big business in RLC and coach loads of inquisitive travelers arrive every five minutes. RLC is also highly commercial and everything connected with the place requires payment in order to access it. Despite the arrival of 20th century commercialization, the experience of RLC is nevertheless well worth the effort and for those of you who would wish to visit I would certainly recommend the trip. The best time to come is Autumn and Winter when you are likely to have the place to yourself. Spring and summer is a little like a madhouse.