Historical and technical data

 

The bay of Saint-Paul is a place of great historical interest. Baptized "best anchorage bay" from the beginning of settlement, the bay provides shelter against the trade winds blowing from the east from May to October. Saint-Paul is also the place of successive settlements during the colonization of the island in 1638, 1642, 1649 and 1665, and also the main place of rest until the end of the first third of the 18th century.

The underwater prospecting operation carried out in 1999 on the remains of the landing stage made it possible to become aware of the strong archaeological potential of the harbor of Saint-Paul. Indeed, the presence of many elements of the Government Bridge has been noted, and this almost a century after its final abandonment. In addition, during this operation, the submerged remains of two other landing bridges were also observed in the bay, confirming the major role played by the harbor in the economic activity of Saint-Paul. between the 18th century and the 19th century.  

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Excerpt from the notice of the archaeological prospecting operation on the landing stage of Saint-Paul (OA N°21/99), Morgane Legros