Montans

Montans is a commune in the Tarn department and Occitanie region of southern France.

Montans
Commune
Coat of arms
Location of Montans
Montans
Montans
Coordinates: 43°52′02″N 1°53′10″E
CountryFrance
RegionOccitanie
DepartmentTarn
ArrondissementAlbi
CantonLes Deux Rives
IntercommunalityGaillac Graulhet Agglomération
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Gilles Crouzet
Area
1
32.43 km2 (12.52 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
1,431
 • Density44/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
81171 /81600
Elevation95–209 m (312–686 ft)
(avg. 106 m or 348 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Situated between Lisle-sur-Tarn and Gaillac, near the A68 autoroute, the village stands at the end of a terrace overlooking the River Tarn. The locality produces wine with the appellation Gaillac AOC.

Name

The name of the settlement is derived from the Occitan word montant, meaning "steep".

History

The site of Montans was occupied by a Gallic oppidum. Already, the Gauls were producing pottery on the site since the environment was favorable with the alluvium covering the terrace containing pockets of clay. Following the Roman occupation, the site became in the beginning of AD one of the most important centers of pottery production in the Gallo-Roman world. The pottery was exported, mostly by water down the Tarn and Garonne rivers all the way to places like Brittany and Great Britain.

Tourism

L'Archéosite is a museum and documentation center, with an exhibition of pottery from Antiquity and a reconstitution of a Gallo-Roman street and shops leading to the potter's house.

On the bank of the Tarn river, Guest houses offer bedrooms and dinners, such as at the Aigue Verte for example.

Roman Samian ware (terra sigillata) bowl, manufactured at Montans, and photographed in the Montans 'Archeosite' museum
Roman pottery kiln, as reconstructed in the Montans archeosite museum in France
Roman fast-food shop, Pompeii style, as reconstructed in the Montans archeosite museum, in France.

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.



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