In Gallo-Roman times, a large villa (over 10ha) was built on the first slopes of the Dordogne hillside on the site of modern-day Montcaret. Devastated by the barbarian invasions, it was a place of worship for the first Christians and the seat of a Benedictine priory in the Middle Ages. The villa had long been forgotten when, in 1827, a mosaic was uncovered during the construction of a washhouse. It was excavated between 1921 and 1941.