Improving knowledge of the topography of a parish center in rural environment: the case of Joue-les-Tours (Indre-et-Loire)

The rescue excavation of squares Victor Hugo and Francois Mitterrand in the municipality of Joue-les-Tours, made in 2011 and 2012 before the construction of the first tramway line of the urban area of Tours, was an opportunity to document archeologically a rural ecclesial pole on a significant surface. Indeed, the object of the excavation was a Christian sanctuary destroyed in 1868, which was the religious and funeral center of a rural parish during the Middle Ages and the modern period. In spite of a relatively poor preservation in a present urbanized context, the study of the site of Jou-ls-Tours contributes to the knowledge of parish center topography in rural areas. Through an analysis of the evolution of the site on a long lasting (7th-19th century), specifically the relations between church, funeral areas and settlement(s), this article tackle the question of the establishment of the structural frames of the parish during the Middle Ages.