Étang de Montady

Popularly believed to have been "constructed by the Visigoths",[1] the Étang de Montady was in fact built by monks and wealthy Béziers landowners during the second half of the 13th century after a 1247 authorization by the Archbishop of Narbonne.[2][3] The exact dates when the work began or ended are not clear, but the landscape as it exists today was completed by 1268.[2]

The Étang de Montady was drained to provide much-needed farmland for the Kingdom of France, which was then experiencing a population boom.[2] This agricultural landscape exists today and can be seen from the Oppidum d'Ensérune, a nearby hill and historic settlement.[2]

^ Mukerji, Chandra (2009). Impossible Engineering: Technology and Territoriality on the Canal du Midi. Princeton University Press. pp. 164, 165, 198. ISBN 978-0-691-14032-2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference abbe2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Carrière 1980.