Small area of mosaic pavement preserved within the early 500s AD Merovingian baptistery in the 1100s AD Cathédrale de at Aix-en-Provence, France. The mosaic is a relic of a building in the Forum of the oldest Roman settlement in Gaul, the ancient city of Aquae Sextiae Salluviorum. The baptistery and other Christian buildings were built over the Forum and some believe the baptistery columns came from a temple dedicated to sun god Apollo.
Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France: this small area of mosaic pavement, preserved within the octagonal early 6th century Merovingian baptistery in the 12th century Cathédrale de , is a relic of a building in the central Forum of the ancient city of Aquae Sextiae Salluviorum, the oldest Roman settlement in Gaul. According to legend, a pre-Roman sacred site on the cathedral land was replaced by a Temple of Apollo built in the Roman Forum. A small Christian oratory, founded around 500 AD, was later joined by episcopal buildings including the baptistery and a chapel. The baptistery is one of the oldest in France. Its domed roof is supported by eight columns that were thought to have been salvaged from the Roman temple when the baptistery was built. In fact, only the baptismal pool and lower levels of the baptistery walls are definitely Merovingian, with the upper walls and roof added in the 1500s. The present cathedral, dedicated in 1103, is a blend of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architecture. Aquae Sextiae Salluviorum was founded by proconsul Gaius Sextius Calvinus in 122 BC. ‘Aquae’ referred to a hot spring, Sextiae’ to its founder and ‘Salluviorum’ to the local Gallic Saluvii people. The site chosen was near the recently-captured Salluvii settlement of Entremont and the first Roman base here was a castellum, a small fort built to guard trade routes. As Entremont declined, Aquae Sextiae grew into the main Roman settlement. Little else now remains of Aquae Sextiae above ground apart from the atrium of a Roman villa and remnants of aqueducts that supplied its water. Entremont has left more significant ruins to the north, including fortifications, remains of houses and the site of a large public building.
Size: 3872px × 2592px
Location: Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1100s, 12th, 500, 500s, 6th, abstract, ad, aix, aix-en-provence, apollo, aquae, baptistery, baptistry, bouches-du-rhône, built, cathedral, cathedrals, cathédrale, century, circa, city, civilisation, conquest, , de, design, empire, era, forum, france, frankish, french, gaul, kerr, leaves, medieval, merovingian, mosaic, mosaics, oldest, pagan, pavement, place, polychrome, pre-roman, provencal, provence, provence-alpes-ôte, relic, republic, roman, romans, sacred, salluviorum, saluvii, salyes, settlement, sextiae, site, southern, , temple, terence, tessellated, tesserae, ’azur, ’université
