Saint-Paul: Grand Fond plant

Located in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, the former Grand Fond sugar plant was the subject of the first rescue archaeological excavation on Réunion, prior to the construction of a housing development.

In 2014, archaeologists excavated some of the buried remains of the plant, of which only the chimney was still visible above ground. Founded in 1834, the sugar plant was operated until the mid-20^th century.

An original establishment

The archaeological excavation identified eight successive phases of occupation at the former sugar plant. The first recognisable equipment found was a vertical grinding mill for tufa and a conduit constructed with hydraulic mortar partly made from this material. A water supply system would have been coupled with a mill acquired in 1838, which in turn powered the sugar cane mill. It was economical to run but anachronistic at a time when some two thirds of plants were equipped with steam engines.

Changes to the site

Around 1868, a more conventional system was installed to produce sugar: the Gimart battery and low-temperature boilers made by Wetzell. The conduit was abandoned. Farmhouses and a residence were built.

Diversification of production

Archival research proves the existence of a distillery on the estate before 1878. This diversified production reflects a drop in sales of the sugar produced on the island, which was competing with beet sugar from mainland France. This crisis led to the closure of the plant in 1944, after several unsuccessful attempts to convert it into a tile-making and then salt-production plant.