Le Puits neuf

The Puits Neufs ("New Well") is dated 16th or 17th century. Situated at the heart of the medieval village, it surprises by its form of shell.
Integrated into the Gassin water recovery network, it recalls the importance of the water in the perched villages of Provence. Fleeing the insecurity of the plains where they had settled down for several centuries, the inhabitants came at about XIIIth century on the hill where is now Gassin.
The water was lacking on this rock peak, in 200 meters in height. Several springs existed below the village: those of Arlatane and Bonne Fontaine (Good Fountain) in particular, but their estrangement allowed partially only to meet needs for the people, the animals and the plants.
In the village, numerous inhabitants possessed a tank to receive rainwater. The well inside the curtain wall was the only collective water source. It was fed by run off water but maybe also by source.
Supply problems in water of the village were recurring until the fastening of the circuits of the village with a vaster network in the XXth century.
Before that, the tower of the primitive castle, adjoining the presbytery, had been transformed into tank and a system allowed the XXth century to receive in the village waters of
the spring of Bonne Fontaine.
This well, called the New Well, was dated the XVIIth century. Its existence is attested at the beginning of the XIXth century. It possesses an internal diameter of 1.8 meters and is 7.4 meters deep.