Laurie Anderson, a long time member who recently celebrated his 90th birthday at the Club, brought along an article from the National COTA News, December 2000 of which he is the author. In that article Laurie wrote:
Petanque, generally regarded as being as French as the Eiffel Tower, may in fact have evolved from an Egyptian ball game. Archaeologists involved in a recent dig in Egypt discovered evidence in the sarcophagus of a prince who lived several centuries before Christ, of a game that resembled Petanque.
It is generally accepted that the modern version of the game originated in the South of France, in a village called Ciotat near Marseilles in the early 1900s.
Ernest Pitiot is credited with having adapted the throwing action of an earlier form of the game to suit a disabled friend who was finding it difficult to play.
What do you think???
