Photograph No. 25
Vestiges of a vault, former cemetery of Champ-Borne in Saint-André, 2017
Photo: Eric VENNER DE BERNARDY DE SIGOYER
Historical and technical data
The site of the vault of the old cemetery of Champ-Borne is located on the territory of the municipality of Saint-André at a place called Champ-Borne in the east of Reunion.
The small cemetery of Champ-Borne is near the ruins of the Saint-Nicolas church destroyed during Hurricane Jennie in 1962. The funerary space still retains some very old monumental freestone tombs.
The website
The site presents on the surface the remains of a burial vault referenced on a small plaque under the number 123. This funerary piece presents on the surface a length of three meters twenty for a width of two meters eleven. The partially destroyed structure is located at inside an artificial eminence. The face of the vault is made up of elongated masonry made up of blocks of cut basalt stones and rough and squared rubble. A binding mortar made up of coral lime and sandy sediments ensures the binding in the mass of the structure.
The aggregate includes inclusions of coral fragments, tiles, and small basalt flakes. The lintel used to support the materials of the wall above the door is present. This architectural element made of cut stone which is chamfered. Its total length is ninety-six centimeters for a width of twenty-five centimeters. The thickness is eleven centimeters. The observation of these vestiges allowed us to improve our knowledge on the organization of the stones in the construction of the funerary monuments of the island of Reunion.