BÛ
and SENANTES Eure et Loir, France.
The region E of Dreux is rich in Classical sites. In antiquity as in the Middle Ages it was a frontier zone
where the territories of the Carbutes, the small Durocanes tribe, and the Aulerci Eburovices met.
Today Bû is a village ca. 12 km NE of Dreux, where
two department roads intersect, on the edge of the Forêet
de Dreux. Ca. 500 m N of the settlement an ancient
monument was discovered that had been concealed by
forest growth. It is a fanum with a rectangular cella
12 x 10.4 m, with a gallery 3.5 m wide around it and a
crude pebble mosaic floor. This sanctuary stood in the
middle of an enclosure with various other buildings and
a pool; the imitation Augustan coin showing the Lugdunum Altar was found on the gallery floor, as well as
terra sigillata and ordinary ware.
Senantes is about 15 km SE of Dreux, on the border
of the department of Eure et Loir and the Yvelines region. There is a very large ancient complex here consisting of a fanum, square in plan, and a sizable building that might be a villa or one of the elements of a conciliabulum, perhaps a basilica. Here was discovered a curious
hypogeum made up of two curved rooms connected to
the surface by five shafts. Many objects were found here,
particularly Lezoux ware and coins of the Antonine dynasty. The function of this hypogeum, which apparently
was not a tomb, remains a mystery.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gallia 26 (1968) 324-95.
G. C. PICARD
