Archaeology Magazine - July/August 1987 - 80

THE

FORUM

warliketribe convertedto Roman ways.Ultimately,they forsookold gods and adopted
a popular new form of worship;the citiby Leslie Walker
zens of Autun may have been among the
earliest adopters of Christianity.This is
supported by archaeologicalevidenceand
knowledgeof their strong linkwith Lyon,
where Christianleaders were fed to the lions
as early as a.d. 177.
The new Christiansadopted the Roman
a novice,goingon an archaeological
practice of placinglonelycemeteriesalong
dig is likesigningup witha construcTo tion crew.The regimentedgang labors the roads leading out of town,just near
enough so that the dead would be decently
hard to enlargea hole in the ground. When
remembered.These shrines,set up to honor
one pit is big enough, another is started.
Christian heroes, became important and
Eachlaborer,whetherfitor fat,strainsto once
the
cementinto
impressive.
his
shovel
againwedge
From warriorto Christiancitizensounds
likeearth packedby centuries.The summer
smooth and logical.But much is unknown
sun beats relentlessly.I can't imaginehow
about the transformation.For instance:When
my tender back- or my flagginginterestand how did Christianityreplace the old
willhold up for two weeks.Then the decorareligioustraditions?Recordsshowthat pagan
tivesherds and age-oldbones surface,and
rites were stillbeing performed by bishopsas
I am motivatedto dig harder and more carelate as a.d.400.
fully.Soon my curiosityexpandsfrom dirtHow many Christiansanctuaries,richly
coveredmorselsof potteryto ancient military
draped with silktapestries and decorated
wallsand fromwar-tornvillagesto historic
regions.EventuallyI fathom the significance with carved marble capitals,bright-colored
mosaicsand didacticfrescoes,existedin Early
of my sandbox.
MediaevalAutun? Howwas the Late AnOur archaeologicalsite is adjacent to
tique and EarlyMediaevalcityorganized?
Autun,a town of about 17,600 inhabitants,
What were its linksto the surrounding
in the lap of twentieth-centuryBurgundy.
countryside?
Here, mountainjoins plain in the lush,green
These are the questionsthat our dedicated
countryside.OriginallycalledAugustodonum,
team of French and Americanarchaeologists
this spectacularlocationwas founded by
seek to answer.Our investigators,headed by
Caesar Augustus2,000 years ago as the
ChristianSapin, Professorat the Ecoledes
the
richest
one
of
for
the
Aedui,
capitalcity
Beaux Arts in Dijon,and BaileyK.Young,
and most powerfulof the Celticpeople.
AssistantProfessorat the Universityof Lille
Overthe centuries,this sleepyFrenchtown
III,began their search in this area of Boursurvivedthe often bloodyconversionsfrom
gogne in 1976. Alreadythe unearthed dispaganismto Christianity,as wellas the pluncoveriescrowdthe town'sMusée Rolinand
deringsand burningsof the Germanicinvaexcavationplans now extend to four sites in
sion beginningabout a.D.270. It went on to
and around Autun.
withstandthe ravagesof twentieth-century
FreestandingRoman ruins commonlydot
commercialdevelopment,and today,this
the lush rollingcountryside,and are often
charmingspot providesthe archaeologist
withabundant clues about its evolutionfrom ignored by the townspeople.For instance,
they did not seem to know about an old
a Gallo-Romancivilizationto an early center
of Christianityand then a Mediaevalculture. buildingwhichhad stood on the outskirtsfor
about 1,900 years.The rotting,falling-down
Let's unpeel the early leavesof history
structurewas fullof the residue of generawhichoverlaywhat became "a Roman city
tions of chickensand the tools of a handiof real magnificence."When Julius Caesar
capped Portugueseworkerwho livednext
became governorof the Gallicregions in 58
door. Neither his wife,his 11 children,nor
b.c.,Gaul was vast;it includedthe Po Valley
the other villagersappeared to care that
in northern Italyas wellas the area across
over the back wallswere arcades of marble
the AlpscalledProvincia.The Gauls were an
aggregateof diversepeople dividedinto over columns and elaborate capitals.Withoutour
curious leaders,a rare monument to the
a hundred natìones or gentes. Caesar's first
a
the
was
in
campaign early historyof Christianityin France may
region
militaryexploit
againstthe Helvetians.It began at the request have disappeared.
The forgotten,run-downedifice,whichis
of the Aedui.
now a barn, is our excavationarea. It is
The enthusiasticBurgundiansoldiers
situated on a rural bump in the road about
joined Caesar in his march northwardand
three milesfrom the Aeduans' capitalcity.
met the Helvetianavalanchein a bloody
battleat Bibracte,a hillfortwhichwasthe origi- Outside the structure,known as St. Pierre
L'Estrier,lifebellows,squawks,buzzes,and
nal capitalof the Aedui.Caesar saved the
boisterousAeduans from invasion.
flowers,whileinside are preserved the earliLikechameleons,the Aedui slowlycomest traces of Autun's Christiancommunity.
What started as an historicalrescue operapacted their immense ciuitas,or urban tribal
tion is now considered one of the most imcenter,of an area from the Saone to the
LoireRivervalleys,into a Mediterranean-like portant Late Antique-EarlyMediaevalsites
in France.
citydefinedby walls.Gradually,the
The

Leaves

of History

ARCHAEOLOGY

The leaders of our crewthink that the
Church at St. Pierre was builtbetween late
firstcentury b.c.or'earlyfirstcenturya.d.
Subsequent buildingswere added or replaced;probablytwo churcheswere erected
on the site between the time of Constantine (a.D.312) and Charlemagne.The prior
one would have been smalland simple,and
the later one an imposingprestigiousfunerary basilica,meant to host pilgrimagesto the
tombs of the earlysaints.
In the ninth century, it's conjectured
that another church was constructedfor the
monasticcommunity.Then in the eleventh
century,as part of the waveof church-building
that leftEuropedotted withmagnificentRomanesque art, the east end was redesignedto
add a graceful,elegant triumphalarch and
high arcade. In the seventeenthcentury,new
windowsand other cosmetictoucheswere
added.
Observationslikethese are piecedtogether
by the experts after much analysis.But our
job is to move earth. Duringthe weeks,half
the group delicatelybrushes the stones and
bones withinthe walls.The other human
ants concentrate on burialsin the adjacent
cemeteryplot.
The deeper I dig,the more interestingand
complexit becomes.The findingsrange from
first-centurylead-glazed"Vichyware" to
orange pieces of twentieth-centuryplastic.
Each ancient morselis a treasure to me.
Our scholarlyfieldsupervisorstell us that
over the last ten years, the site has unearthed such relicsas a firstto third century
a.d.pagan stele, a rusticGaulishcarving,
and a CoquilleSt. Jacques stafffrom the
burialof a pilgrimwho visited
twelfth-century
the shrine of Santiago de Compostellain
Spain.
We are the finalteam. Afterwe drawand
bag the last skeleton,our unprotected,decayinghistoricmonument willbe closed,and
the massivejob of cataloguingceramicswill
begin.A ten-yearreport willbe published,
and, eventuallywhat seemed to be a rundown barn on the brinkof demolitioncould
be restored and turned into a museum.
The St. Pierre investigatorswillturn to
other nearby sites,such as St. Clement,St.
Leger and St. Nazaire,and continue to unearth the foundations of ancient France.
Bucketafter shovelful,the identityof Burgundy willemerge and with it, the snoozy
villageof Autun and its neighboringterritorieswillbe linkedto a larger context,which
came to be called "France."
LeslieWalkerisa travelwriterwhoseworkhas
appeared inThe DenverPost.She participated in the excavationthroughEarthwatch.
The Forum is devoted to readers' commentaries,opinionsand short stories.
The opinionsexpressedin the Forum do
not necessarilyrepresent the viewsof
ArchaeologyMagazineor the Archaeologicalinstituteof America.

Archaeology Magazine - July/August 1987

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