Carrière du chemin de Port-Mahon, Medieval underground quarry in 14th arrondissement, France.
Carrière du chemin de Port-Mahon is a limestone quarry beneath Tombe-Issoire Street in the 14th arrondissement with two levels of galleries carved using medieval extraction methods from the fourteenth century. The walls still show clear traces of this early stonework, easily distinguished from inscriptions added later by subsequent miners.
Limestone extraction at this site began in 1492 and continued through subsequent centuries. Sixteenth-century miners left their inscriptions carved into the stone walls, marking their work and presence in the underground passages.
A stonemason named Antoine Décure created sculptures in these underground galleries depicting the port of Minorca, giving this quarry its distinctive name Port-Mahon. His artistic work transformed a simple extraction site into a place where craft and creativity met.
The site is private property located at 13-17 Villa Saint-Jacques and is accessible only during special events with mandatory advance reservations. Plan your visit well ahead if you want to explore this underground space, as regular access is not available.
This is the only legally recognized fourteenth-century underground extraction site beneath Paris, an official status confirmed by the State Council in 1998. This legal recognition sets it apart as a unique testament to medieval construction activity beneath the city.
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