Buthiers

On the fringe of the Ile-de-France and Orléanais regions, the Commune of Buthiers has a green and protected environment. 

Prehistoric times have left rich vestiges: a dolmen (la Roche au Loup), a polishing stone, and numerous rock engravings. The church of Buthiers dates back in part to the 13th century; it is remarkable for its isolated location on the edge of the plateau, surrounded by the cemetery. It seems that the village moved down into the valley at an undetermined time, for easier access to water. 

The communal land is made up of three clearly differentiated sectors: the peaty marshes of the Essonne valley, the wooded hillsides, dotted with sandstone blocks, and finally the fertile plateau. The marshes, crossed by ditches and ancient peat bogs, are almost impenetrable and constitute protected areas (ZNIEFF, Haute Vallée de l'Essonne, Natura 2000, etc.). 

The town of Buthiers/Roncevaux stretches for almost 2 km, between the marshes and the wooded area, which is also highly protected; in the centre of the latter, in the middle of a well-known climbing area, one of the Ile-de-France region's leisure parks was set up in the 1970s. Auxy is located above the wooded area, on the edge of the plateau. Herbeauvilliers is a typical village-street of the Gâtinais plateau.

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