Nouvelle Entrée Ouest - Phase 1

Plans for the "Nouvelle Entrée Ouest" in Saint-Denis included the complete redevelopment of the coastal strip. Since it covered an area with strong heritage potential, a thorough archaeological investigation needed to be made of the site. An initial land-based evaluation was performed in 2017 to the northeast of the coastal fringe in Saint-Denis.

Test pits were dug in five areas. Two areas explored on either side of the mouth of Saint-Denis River did not reveal structures dating to earlier than the 20^th century.

Area 3 revealed the remains of two landing stages. They were identified by the discovery of man-made floors and finds that, in addition to what we know from old maps, suggest they are the remains of the "pont Labourdonnais", the first landing stage built in the 18^th century in Réunion and the Marine Bédier.

Area 4 corresponds to the Place du Général de Gaulle. Test pits revealed a series of extremely well preserved remains and a complex stratigraphy attesting to the development of this area from the 18^th to 20^th centuries. A rescue excavation was performed here in 2019.

Area 5 corresponds to square Labourdonnais. Archaeologists found that its current use as a recreational square has not changed significantly since the 18^th century. The stratigraphy was composed of an accumulation of prepared ground surfaces, sometimes including possible pebble-bordered pathways. The twenty cannons planted in the ground that currently close the square, in addition to a lead bullet and two cannonballs found in a test pit, confirm the area’s military past.

Other evaluations performed in 2020 revealed the remains of the old port of Saint-Denis, under the present-day Barachois.