SANXAY
Vienne, France.
The rural sanctuary
of Sanxay in Herbord is 35 km SE of Poitiers on the
road from ancient Limonum, on the N side of the Sinus
Pictonum, to the center of the Pictonic territory. It forms,
with Vendeuvre and Vieux-Poitiers, a group of rural sanctuaries at some distance from the capital and did not,
therefore, play the role of sanctuary-frontier between two
cities like La Terne, Chassenon, or St. Léomer.
The buildings are on both banks of the Vonne, a small
tributary of the Clain which must have influenced the
original choice of a site for the native cult. On the left
bank, three terraces rise from W to E, that on which the
temple was located dominating those of the forum and
the baths. Below, the populated quarters spread along the
river. The theater and a small fanum have been discovered to the S on the right bank.
Temple: the rectangular peribolos, oriented E-W, consists of two parallel walls forming a courtyard in the
center of which was the temple. The W side of the peribolos was a long building, reached from the outside by
a ramp. To N and S the inner wall of the peribolos supported the colonnade of a portico; traces of the bases
have been found. To the E the colonnade was probably
higher, and the exterior wall was probably reinforced by
buttresses. Monumental steps on this side led to the temple. Two secondary sets of steps at each end of the gallery led directly to the N and S porticos. In the center,
an octagonal structure like that at Chassenon was reinforced with pilasters at its interior angles. It had at least
two entrances, at E and W. Around the octagon, walls
1.25 m thick form a Greek cross, the E arm of which
was connected to the portico by a monumental rectangular vestibule. It has been suggested that these walls
formed the stylobate of a colonnade, but it is more likely
that they were the foundations for walls lower than those
of the octagonal cella. Fragments of Corinthian and composite capitals found on the site perhaps belong to the
temple. They are of a developed type, with a high cylindrical bell of acanthus leaves, volutes partially hidden by the leaves, and high striated abaci.
Forum: extending the terrace on which the temple is
built, and below it, stretches a vast esplanade (88 x 94 m)
bordered with walls and including a courtyard on the S
and E sides. In the center is a small circular edifice 7 m
in diameter which has sometimes been called the Tomb
of the Hero. Nothing supports such an identification. The
esplanade doubtless served as a gathering place, but it is
not certain that it fulfilled all the roles of a forum. The
finds identify it as being, like the temple, from the 2d c.
Baths: on the E, and off axis to the N, a third esplamade (60 x 110 m), runs E-W. It was bordered by porticos stretching from the W to the N and E. A large palestra has been identified in the W part, and in the NW
section were the baths. The original building was a double bath building. To the E was a large swimming pool,
with three apses to the N to which were attached a caldarium, a tepidarium with a hypocaust, and a frigidarium.
To the W, two rooms with hypocaust and subsidiary
rooms formed a second group. In a later remodeling, a
third room with a hypocaust was built on to the W half
of the large swimming pool. The original plan was further modified by other rooms with hypocausts added to
the N on each side of the entrance vestibule. The original
construction was 2d c., the modification at the end of the 3d.
Theater: S of the river the theater is built against a
steep slope facing NW. A vast structure 90 m in diameter, it consisted of stone foundations and wooden tiers,
like most rural theaters in Gaul. The cavea was considerably more than a semicircle. The tiers in the central
section were cut into the rock, but only the lower ones
were covered with masonry—the seats for important
guests. The others had a wooden superstructure. On the
sides can be seen the foundations of a double circular exterior wall, of three precinctions, and of the podium
wall. All the vomitoria are strangely oriented, parallel to
the long diameter of the theater and to the stage wall.
To the S two narrow ones serve the upper tiers. Two
others, towards the center, lead to the podium. The main
entrances were two large corridors behind the stage wall,
divided into four compartments by extensions of the precinct walls, on either side of the orchestra. The orchestra
is very large, and almost perfectly circular, the diameter
varying from 37.4 to 37.7 m. Remains of an oval structure
are perhaps those of an earlier arena. The stage is small,
with two doors opening onto the orchestra, and forms a
projection in the exterior of the stage wall. Such an arrangement would seem to reduce the role of the actors to
a minimum, while permitting audience participation, unless
one postulates a wooden proscenium extending into the
orchestra. The theater dates from the 2d c. A.D.
Residental area: one neighborhood extended along the
river at the foot of the temple-forum-bath ensemble, but
separated from it by extended terraces. There were four
great buildings with a central peristyle courtyard which
have been identified as hostelries for pilgrims, besides
more modest houses. Another ensemble has been partially
uncovered to the NE, behind an E-W street. Buildings
with large courtyards have also been found along the
Vonne, and simpler dwellings higher up. Finally, some
isolated structures to the W and N hint at an extension
of the settlement. It is hard to maintain that there was
a real town at Sanxay, however. It is probable that here,
as at Vendeuvre, the residential quarters were built after
the public buildings.
Artifacts: common ware and terra sigillata, including
some beautiful pitchers with handles, numerous iron
tools, iron and bronze keys, and objects of personal ornament. The most important finds are two bronze statuettes,
a Mercury with a purse and an Attis with double axe,
as well as a terracotta from the Allier district decorated
with a Venus pudica.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
P. C. de La Croix,
Mémoire archéologique sur les découvertes d'Herbord, dites de Sanxay
(1883); id.,
Mémoire de la Société des Antiquaires de
l'Ouest (1883) 7; J. Héron de Villefosse, “Inscriptions
romaines de Sanxay,”
Revue poitevine et saintongeaise
(15 Jan. 1885) 341ff; G. Chauvet, “Le temple romain
de Sanxay et le culte des Empereurs,”
Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de l'Ouest (1922-23) 381-428; H.
Koethe, “Die keltische Rund- und Vielecktempel,”
RGKomm 23 (1933) 68-174; J. Formigé, “Le sanctuaire
de Sanxay,”
Gallia 2 (1944) 43.97
PI; F. Eygun, “Liste des objets recueillis à Sanxay par le P. de La Croix,” ibid. 98-120; Grenier,
Manuel III:1, 54-55
I; III:2, 939-43
I; IV:2, 553-67
PI.
G. NICOLINI
