New Basque Toponymy Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. Origins: Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume CXIV Notaries: Notaries of Navarrenx Chapter: Titles of the Chapter of Bayonne Soule: Customs of Soule History In the Middle Palaeolithic era Soule was already populated as remains of Neanderthal prehistoric man have been found in the Xaxixiloaga caves in Aussurucq. A tumulus was also reported at shepherd's cabins in Potxo along the D147 road. The central part of Soule is also called the Messagerie des Arbailles between Basabürü and Pettarra (in the Sauguis-Saint-Étienne, Aussurucq, and Barcus regions). Administration List of Successive Mayors Inter-communality The commune is part of six inter-communal structures: the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque; the sanitation association for Pays du Soule; the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; the inter-communal association of Arbailla; the inter-communal association for transport from Musculdy to Ordiap; the inter-communal association to support Basque culture. Demography In 2017 the commune had 245 inhabitants. Economy Economic activity is based on agriculture (livestock and pasture). The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty. Culture and Heritage The village features a dynamic scene related especially to Basque culture. The inhabitants of the village performed the pastoral Ürrüti Jauregiko Peirot in 2002, a play written by the son of the village Niko Etxart, an acclaimed Basque musician. Civil heritage The Chateau of Ruthie (11th century) is registered as an historical monument. A Gaztelu Zahar (Castellum) is at a place called gaztelu at an altitude of 582 metres. Religious heritage The town has a church with a Trinitarian steeple or a tower surmounted by three points of nearly equal height. The church contains a processional cross (17th century) which is registered as an historical object. Environmental heritage At the end of the 19th century, the Arbailles Forest covered parts of the communes of Aussurucq, Béhorléguy, Camou-Cihigue, Musculdy, Ordiarp, and Saint-Just-Ibarre. A wealth of heritage in Aussurucq commune is contained in its sub-soil. Most of the territory of the commune is karstic. The environment is characterized by the presence of natural cavities in complex shapes that have not all yet been discovered or much less explored to date. Departmental cavers have undertaken the exploration, description, and publication of this heritage respecting the environment and the local population. One of the most beautiful caves in the commune is the Nébélé which