The Domaine de Villèle dates back to the last quarter of the 18th century. This habitation – in the Creole sense of the word – included service and production buildings (kitchen, stores, a slave hospital, accommodation for indentured labourers, and the plant) clustered around the mansion. Completed in 1788, the mansion is now home to the Villèle Museum.

The development of the Villèle Museum

The Réunion conseil départemental plans to launch a five-year redevelopment project to create a museum exploring the site’s architecture, archaeology and landscape. As part of this project, archaeologists undertook an evaluation of the site in 2019.

Former sugar refinery: archaeological data

Test pits and trenches were dug throughout the site, revealing previously unrecorded remains, mainly to the west of the refinery, including postholes, masonry buildings, the base of a mill, conduits, recovery trenches, a dump pit as well as floors, rubble and demolition likely to considerably enhance our knowledge of the site. The archaeological finds uncovered tell us more about sugar refining and craft activities on the estate.

To learn more about the history of the habitation and the Villèle history museum, visit the website on the subject.

Associated media

Open Media Library