An overlooked treasure in the late Gallo-Roman temple of Cobannus (Burgundy, France)
Résumé
The sanctuary of Cobannus, near Dijon, in the Burgundy region, is under excavation since 2019. The site is a fairly typical Gallo-Roman sanctuary, with a square temple, surrounded by a stone temenos wall. It was built over the rectangular Iron Age ditch, which was presumably used as a container for votive offerings.
However, the site is best known for the discovery, long kept secret, of an extraordinary treasure trove of Roman statuary and ritual furnishings. Unearthed illegally in 1977, its contents were sold by its discoverer and dispersed among prestigious American collections. In 2007, shortly before his death, full of remorse, he finally confessed everything.
The treasure was buried outside the sacred enclosure in a simple pit covered with tiles. The most valuable artworks were the bronze statue of Cobannus, a local deity who was equivalent to Mars, and a pair of portrait busts of rich young boys from the 1st century AD. It also contained numerous small statues, gold jewellery, metal vessels and at least 6,000 coins, stacked in three separate arcas (offering boxes). The most recent coinage dates from the reign of Julian the Apostate (around 363). This treasure therefore represents the closing deposit of the sanctuary, perhaps hastily created in the middle of the 4th century. However, this burial did not signify the end for the sanctuary. Coins of Valentinian and Theodosius indicate that it was still used as a pagan temple until the end of the 4th century. All the buildings were then violently destroyed by a fire, which led to the final abandonment of the temple.
The aim of this paper is to discuss the question of the end of sanctuaries in the Eastern Gaul, as well as the particular journey of the treasure of Cobannus.