Ice Cellars

The Massif de la Sainte-Baume harbours the Mediterranean's largest concentration of ice cellars. Ice was used from Roman times onwards, but the first ice cellars were built in the Sainte Baume hills in around 1640. These large wells are two-thirds buried, and topped with a tiled dome. Their depth is 15 m and diameter 8-10 m. Adjacent to the ice cellars are the meadows and basins where water from the nearby springs and rivers was frozen. It was then cut and transported to the ice cellars. Once full, the cellars were sealed and only re-opened at the end of the following April. The ice was transported at night on carts, mainly to the cities of Toulon and Marseille. Ice was subject to tenant farming laws and each user town was obliged to pay a rent to Madame de Venel, who held this royal privilege in Provence. The ice trade declined suddenly from 1880 – 1900, when the new railways began importing massive amounts of ice from the alpine glaciers and the first artificial ice manufacturers set up business on the coast.