Puits et fosses de la Fontaine des Mersans à Argentomagus. Dépotoirs ou dépôts votifs ?

Abstract

Fourteen pits and shafts have been explored in the Fountain area during the excavations at Argentomagus. Four circular shafts and three pits were situated underneath the steps of the monument and a fourth pit under the drain. Six other pits have been excavated in the area just beside the Fountain. These cavities which run from the augustean period to the third quarter of the 1st c. A.D., produce evidence for an occupation of this area before the Fountain was erected. The contents of these pits draw us to pose several questions about their destination. The large amount of disconnected bones and fragmented pottery calls to mind rubbish pits in several cases. But successive deposits and the presence of finds which denote ritual features, or their unusual location, testify to religious purposes. Parts of oxen, white pottery flagons, model ex- votos, and the dedication to a native goddess — the interpretation of which is given here — are highly significant of ritual practices. Their comparative study with the finds of the temple area has been undertaken.