Pontey The millstones of the Valmerian

The slopes of Mount Barbeston in Valmeriana feature a special rock that has been used since ancient times to produce grain mills and soapstone cookware.   Description Of The Millstone Route The predominant rock in the Valmerian is a granatiferous chloritoschist with a high talc content, used industrially to extract tons of material for millstones and grain pots.
The rock is easily worked by hand and lathe, with red garnets and black chloritoids used to grind grains.
The millstones were quarried, rough-hewn and transported downstream for finishing and taxing.
The Valmeriana was a major source of millstones, and thousands of millstones passed through Bard on their way to other locations.
How to get to the beginning of the millstone trail From the center of Pontey, proceed to Chambave, then take the road to the left that leads to the villages of Verthuy and Cloutraz.