There were Romans in Montpeyroux; the village name – from Mont Pierreux or ‘stony mountain’ - reflects their influence. Over the centuries, travellers have passed through the village which is strategically placed as an ideal trading post between sea and mountains.

As a result, the village is built along the old trading routes, unlike many of the nearby villages which nestle inside their defensive circular walls or circulades. Over the centuries, the village houses were built along the old mule trails or drailles along which pilgrims trudged on their way to the shrine at St Jean de Compostella, and merchants transported salt, wine, dried fish, olive oil, spices and herbs and a host of other goods

Even today flocks of hundreds of sheep follow in the hoof steps of their medieval forebears in the transhumance, as they pass through the village on the move between their winters on the warmer plains to their summer pasture on the cooler Larzac.

The historic high point of the village, the feudal Castellas, still stands watch over the village guarding its thousand souls from invading armies and bands of robbers, just as it has for over a thousand years.

As part of a cultural and historical project ‘Paths of History’, a reconstruction of these historic trails is being developed; you can see part of it in the sales caveau.