Caveirac 4.45

Caveirac is a commune and a village in the Gard department in southern France. It is located 8km west of Nîmes and is the first village in the Vaunage reached when travelling from Nîmes. Its early history is unclear but it was in existence by the year 893. Its main feature is the Chateau of Caveiric, a notable building which now houses the town hall. The surrounding area of plains and low hills is agricultural and there are extensive vineyards.GeographyCaveirac is located 8km west of Nîmes and 19km east of Sommières. It is the first village encountered when the fertile agricultural plain known as the Vaunage is entered from the east. Near the town is a hill, Pic Caveirac, from which the surrounding peaks of Mont Ventoux, La Grande Motte, Les Alpilles, Pic Saint Loup and Mont Aigoual can be seen.HistoryThe name of Caveirac originates from the Gallo-Roman name of Cavarius and the Gaulish suffix -acos, together designating a property on the site of the villa which belonged to Cavarius. The site stood on a Roman road, of which a milestone excavated in the comune was purchased and installed in the paving of the square before the Château. Its name was first mentioned in 893 in an act of sale recorded by the cathedral of Nîmes: "in territorio civitatis Nemausensis in vicaria Valle Anagia in villas quas nominant…Cavariago". There are a number of traces of the early occupation of the land around Caveirac, including funeral stones and the remains of farming properties, but they are all rather vague.