HIPOGEO DE LAS DUNAS DE POITIERS

In the Iron Age there was a Gallic oppidum called Limonun (Mud), inhabited by the Picton Gauls, who in the middle of the 1st century BC. C. were divided between the supporters of Vercingetorix, led by Dumamacos, and the Roman supporters of Julius Caesar, led by Duradios. The intervention of the Roman legates Caius Caninius and Caius Fabius tips the balance in favor of Rome.

In the 1st century AD. C. the town is Romanized and has an amphitheater and several aqueducts, as well as a thermal complex. In the 2nd century it could have been the capital of the province of Aquitaine, although in the following century it passed to Bordeaux. In the 4th century, Saint Hilary evangelized the area and a bishopric was created and the baptistery was erected.

In the 5th century it joined the Visigoth kingdom of Tolosa, until its defeat in the battle of Vouillé (507). In the 6th century, Saint Radegund, wife of Clotaire I, founded a monastery and received from Emperor Justin a relic of the True Cross of Christ. The municipal Curia, of Roman origin, still exists in 651.

During the 8th century, after the disappearance of the Visigoth kingdom of Toledo, the Muslims invaded Gaul and in 732 Carlos Martel defeated them in the battle of Poitiers. In the 9th century, Abbot Mellebaude built the Dunes hypogeum as a burial place. Later the county of Poitiers was founded. The 12th century is a period of splendor with the construction of a new wall, an office of weights and measures is obtained and trade fairs begin to take place.

The Hundred Years’ War brought conflict and destruction to the city: in 1358 the English troops of the Black Prince defeated the French troops of John the Good. In 1418 the Royal Parliament met and in 1429 Joan of Arc was interrogated in the city. The founding of the University took place in 1431. During the Renaissance the city went into crisis, beginning a clear recovery in the 18th century. But in the 19th century the city had an important military function, with a garrison

The funerary chapel (Hypogeum of the Dunes) was built by Abbot Mellebaude for his burial, within a previous necropolis. The discovery took place in 1878, while carrying out agricultural work. The archaeologist C. de la Croix tried to excavate the site, but did not obtain authorization because it was military land. He managed to excavate a nearby area and more than 300 tombs and the Dunas hypogeum appeared, with an octagonal layout on the inside and a circular layout on the outside.

The current roof vault is later; Originally it may have had a wooden roof. The walls have an irregular surface with the appearance of a Roman opus reticulatum. The building follows Gallo-Roman models from the 3rd century, but with mural decoration. The staircase leading to the hypogeum has a decoration of intertwined snakes, ivy leaves and fish, perhaps with Christian symbology. The walls are decorated with polychrome paintings and bas-reliefs. The tomb with an arcosolium corresponds to Mellebaude. Two areas are differentiated, separated by a step decorated with rosaceae. Highlight the abundant presence of sarcophagi.

Among the sculpted decoration, it is worth highlighting a bas-relief that represents the two thieves, with features that highlight the large eyes and nose and mouth. They wear a kind of skirt and are bare-chested. The recessed bottom accentuates the sensation of depth. Both characters are separated by a column with a base, shaft and capital.

In 1908 the hypogeum was restored with the characteristics of Merovingian architecture. Since 1998 it has been closed for renovation works. Today an altar, ten sarcophagi and about 35 tombs in total are preserved, as well as abundant reliefs of interesting Christian iconography.

Francisco Javier Fernández Gamero for URBS REGIA

Exposición Padre C. de la Croix. Museo Arqueológico de Tournai (Bélgica) otoño-invierno 2016.

Guía para conocer Poitiers. El gran secreto de Francia.2020.

L’hypogée des Dunes