Château de Roquetaillade, Medieval fortress in Mazères, France.

Château de Roquetaillade stands in Mazères as two separate castles inside one fortified enclosure. The old castle keeps 10th-century stone vestiges and a gate tower enlarged around 1305. The new castle, begun in 1306, has a square plan with six towers and a central keep; its pale tan masonry, crenellated parapets and rows of narrow arched windows are visible from the courtyard.

The fortress was built in 1306 with papal funding by Gaillard de Lamothe, nephew of Pope Clement V, and has remained in the same family's possession since its construction. This continuity of ownership shaped its character and development over the centuries.

The name Roquetaillade means "carved in the rock", referring to the rocky spur and caves below the walls. The chapel Saint-Michel, the village church in the 12th century, holds a coffered ceiling of Moorish inspiration created by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. The castle has served as a film set, standing in for Britain in Fantômas contre Scotland Yard and appearing in Le Pacte des loups.

The site is open all year round, and visits led by the owners can be arranged in English. The ticket office holds the flint tools found on the site, so start there before walking the enclosure. The two castles and the chapel Saint-Michel stand within the same walled circuit, which once enclosed the whole village.

The castle grounds contain prehistoric caves with ancient artifacts on display, revealing that humans inhabited this location long before the medieval fortress was built. These early traces connect the site to the region's deeper archaeological heritage.