Trémonteix sanctuary

Interpretation of the site as a villa is similarly open to debate, given the absence of any agricultural structures, with the exception of four vats whose function is uncertain.

It is separated from the rest of the site by an enclosing wall equipped with a tower-porch, ensuring the transition between the cult space and the courtyard of the establishment.

Although no divinity has been identified, the presence of a basin in the cella of the southern temple, the features found in the peribolos and various items of furniture indicate that this was probably a water sanctuary.

It is distinguished by a probable southern gallery and walls decorated with painted plaster,[16] and has been identified as the residential building at the center of the estate.

[8][15] The site was divided into two areas: to the north, the sanctuary proper, which appears to have been built as a single unit,[18] and to the south, the villa courtyard, at least 98 m long, where three single-room buildings known as peripheral pavilions were found along the eastern wall.

During this same phase, the land to the north of the two temples was terraced to protect the site from erosion and ground pressure, and also to enhance the sanctuary.

[29] The sanctuary is located to the north of the villa's pavilions, at the foot of the slope, which was lowered to create a flat surface.

These two temples take the form of a quadrilateral corresponding to the cella where the deity resides, surrounded by a peripheral gallery of the same orientation, of a slightly higher gauge.

[32] Several structures were excavated within this perimeter: a masonry plinth possibly designed to house a statue or altar, a fountain facing the north temple, and a well accessed via an inclined plane, interpreted as a nymphaeum.

[18] Supplied with water from the west via a drain, the nymphaeum was accessible via a ramp and was fitted with a wooden casing that was not found in situ.

[32] The furnishings found during excavation included everyday items as well as religious objects (fragments of an Allier white clay statuette and an oil lamp) and game pieces.

[32] In the southeast corner of the perimeter, leaning against the dividing wall between the courtyard and the sanctuary, stands a building that underwent two phases.

Recomposed over a surface area of almost 5 × 2 m, the panels depict a variety of rural scenes: fruit, flowers, foliage and animals, including birds and a rooster.

[36] A Bacchic episode also appears to be depicted, while various graffiti, geometric shapes, compass exercises and figures, including a gladiator, have been identified.

[13] A single opening was observed on the east side of the building,[18] and at least part of its masonry is made of irregular rubble and ashlar quoins.

[37] Two openings provide access to this temple: the main one to the east, heavily disrupted by salvaging, and another in the southeast corner,[21] the latter having been belatedly filled in.

[18] While two drainage trenches completed the supply of this naturally-occurring spring, an overflow drain led the water outside the sanctuary, towards the south.

[21] While the presence of a Bacchic episode could provide a clue as to the deity honored in this sanctuary, Julien Boislève points out that this shortcut is too quick given the banality of this iconographic scheme.

[18] In the sanctuary's worship circuit, the nymphaeum's modesty nevertheless seems to indicate that it played a minor role,[34] perhaps to the benefit of the fountain located in front of the northern temple.

[51] Although the small size of the corpus and its fragmentary aspect make it impossible to be conclusive, certain fragments do seem to be linked to this probable water sanctuary.

[7] However, the person in charge of the operation interprets the site as a sanctuary associated with a villa, the residential part of which must have been located nearby, perhaps to the south of the diagnosed and excavated right-of-way.

[8] The status of the site, between a potentially private reception area with the room above the vats, and a cult space possibly open to a wider public, remains undetermined.

General site plan for the second state, second phase.
Documented walls
Other documented structures
Building footprints
Restored walls
Other structures restored
Excavation limit
Sanctuary plan for the second state, second phase.
Documented walls
Other structures
Restored walls
Excavation limit
Semicircular stone construction, preserved in elevation over several dozen centimetres high.
The fountain facing the entrance to the northern temple.
Bright red plaster plate on which a gladiator is drawn and appears in white.
Graffiti of a gladiator on painted plaster found in building 5.
The floor of the southern temple was perforated by a water-filled basin, half of which was excavated, the other half not being excavated as it lay outside the archaeological excavation area.
The cella basin of the southern temple. Note, on the left of the photograph, the area that was not excavated and is still occupied by sediment.
Top view of four quadrangular tanks and their masonry.
The villa's four tanks, the only identified production sites on the site.