A church 25 meters long and 11.5 meters wide with an area of 235 m². The paleo-Christian building, rediscovered in October 2023 during excavations carried out at La Nauve, in Lamonzie-Saint-Martin (Dordogne), “stands out for its size” and was undoubtedly “of a particular rank”.
This was explained by Hervé Gaillard, of the Regional Archeology Service at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, and Christian Scuiller, archaeologist at the National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research, in front of a packed room at the Château de Saint- Martin, Sunday June 16, during the European Archeology Days.
A true “cathedral in the open field”, this building is remarkable for its age since it dates from the first Christians. “The 4th and 5th centuries constitute a confusing period from a political point of view,” said Hervé Gaillard. It was the end of Antiquity when Rome installed the Visigoths in New Aquitaine. »
Discovery in 1834
In 1834, the first research carried out on this site, by Abbot Audierne, revealed an important funerary presence. Two pieces of a sarcophagus “from the Aquitaine school”, bearing the symbols of primitive Christianity, were notably found. “We can estimate that the site operated from 450 until around the year 1000,” explained Hervé Gaillard. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, had made religion legal, and by 360 there was a bishop in Périgueux. » Made of gray-veined marble from the Pyrenean Piedmont, this high-quality sarcophagus must have housed an important person.
Daniel Lachapelle
After the passage of the georadar, the archaeologists invested the field located in La Nauve.
More recently, Jean-Jacques Fardet, the owner who died in 2022, had also made discoveries in his field, such as a small gold coin of Zeno (emperor from 476 to 491), pieces of mosaic or Merovingian goldwork. Thanks to the georadar passed over the 4-hectare site, archaeologists were able to establish a three-dimensional map. To the north, a Gallo-Roman villa bordered by numerous tombs; to the south, a square of 25 meters on each side which could be a sanctuary, and in the center, this “exceptional” building.
5th century goldwork
Limited to two surveys, the excavations, financed by the town hall, made it possible to confirm the initial work. “The entire building was recovered to the bone, there was no longer the slightest stone or the slightest piece of mortar,” explained Hervé Gaillard. In the trenches, however, experts discovered two graves. One of a “very young” individual, aged 4 to 6 years, positioned with its head to the west and on its back.
Daniel Lachapelle
Two trenches have been dug but archaeologists hope to go further in 2025.
Archaeologists have unearthed another skeleton, probably that of a woman buried with objects from the “Mediterranean world”, “cloisonné” goldwork from the 5th or 6th century. “According to specialists, this dressed burial and these objects date from 470 or 480 AD,” noted Christian Scuiller.
But for specialists, there “remain many questions about this building and in particular about its end”. To learn more, they hope to conduct another intervention on site in 2025.
