Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 27, 2015:

@Bohy Wonderful, merci bien.

Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 27, 2015:

@Tony Yes, Tony, you're right it is a kind of guided tour.

Anne Bohy Apr 26, 2015:

@Asker Check this too: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroblème_de_Rochechouart-Chas...
In the 3rd paragraph, they explain precisely what "brèche" is.

Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 26, 2015:

@Tony There are typos, too...

Tony M Apr 26, 2015:

@ Asker Ah now you see, it DOES make all the difference!

You still haven't told us what the purpose of your document is — but from the use of the ellipsis, and the « ici ... », this sounds very much like some kind of guided tour — either physical or maybe virtual.

In that case, the fragment nature of the text makes more sense — it would simply be like a caption to go with an image.

I think you'll find that by 'moellons' they mean 'big blocks of stone' (though don't for goodness' sake translate it like that!); and from what precedes, we know that 'calcaire' is being used for the 'dallage', so it logically follows that this 'brèche' is being used for the 'moellons' — it sounds to me like you need to research some type of stone.

Please see my reference entry and Kashew's answer — shows you what a difference it makes when we have appropriate context!

Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 26, 2015:

@ Tony Let's see: first they speaks of the pools in the Roman thermals. Then they go on about the materials, but it's short, as I said:

Incroyable, la structure de ces piscines.
On a du dallage en calcaire.... on utilise les matériaux locaux...La brèche pour les moellons

and then:
Ici, ce sont des dalles de calcaire, comme sous nos pieds.

but I think it has nothing to do with the "breche"...

Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 26, 2015:

@ Nikki I've found this translation in, I think the Larousse and other. It seems strange to me, too...

Tony M Apr 26, 2015:

@ Asker This fragment is not a complete sentence. So the context we need is whatever comes before it, to which this is the 'answer'. It might be soemthing like "here you can see the materials used to build them: ..." etc. etc. What comes before is essential to udnerstand why this is expressed this way; if as you say they are talking about 'materials', then it is curious to refer to a 'gap' as a 'material'. I'm sure there is more to this than meets the eye, and if you share the context with us, it wil! probably all become immediately and blidningly obvious.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne Apr 26, 2015:

@Nina "Rubble stone" is not the usual term; "rubble" already describes the type of stone, so "stone" is redundant.

When it comes to further context, rather than describing the context, the idea is to provide an extract of the original context also : at least the phrase before and after the phrase in which the problematic term appears.

Otherwise, as is, we can say little more than a hole for rubble. It seems odd, without more context. It might also mean a particular type of hole for small stones, not necessarily rubble. As you say "rubble", then you have decided than this is small "filling" type stone matter. Again, that sounds odd and without more context, it's going to be difficult to provide useful suggestions. ;-)

Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 26, 2015:

Sorry there's no wider context than this, Tony. It is about walls construction method. The way they buit these walls in Roman times. with this "breche".

Nina Iordache (asker) Apr 26, 2015:

For moellon I'll probably use "rubble stone". The further context is about using local materials for the thermals:

"La brèche pour les moellons, les murs."

B D Finch Apr 26, 2015:

Context required The snippet you have posted is incomprehensible on its own. I suspect that you may have incorrectly parsed the sentence. Please post at least the whole sentence from the source text.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne Apr 26, 2015:

That was going to be my next addition, Tony! Could you provide an extract of your original in which the phrase appears? Context is needed.

Tony M Apr 26, 2015:

@ Asker And how exctly is the expression being used in your wider context?

Nikki Scott-Despaigne Apr 26, 2015:

Hello Nina,
Have you deceided what term to use for "moellon"? In layman's terms, it can be anything from a stone used in construction which is small enough to be handled by one person alone, or simply rubble.