Before the dyking works carried out in the middle of the 19th century, the geographical characteristics of the Rhône delta subjected large areas to salt rising, making them exploitable only by the extensive breeding of cattle and horses guarded by a gardian (herdsman) on horseback. The history of the gardians' profession in the territory of Arles has been traced back to the Middle Ages. From the beginning of the 19th century, bullfighting games appeared in patrons or national festivals, transforming the image of the gardian from a simple solitary agricultural worker to an essential actor in popular festivals. The Provençal cultural renaissance from the end of the 19th century made the gardian the defender of traditions and an ancestral art of living.