Excavation of 1,700-year-old Roman ruins on top of a sacred spring

Archaeologists in France have unearthed the Roman ruins of a lake and wall surrounding a natural freshwater spring. They think it was built on the ruins of an older, perhaps sacred site, possibly dating back 4,500 to 6,000 years, to the Neolithic period.

The Roman ruins are believed to date back to the third century and artifacts found there include a ceramic god face or Medusa placed near a water source. The site also contains pottery shards and coins from the late Roman Empire as well as flint fragments and daggers, believed to have been found there during the Neolithic period.

According to a statement from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), the ruins were found near the village of Chamborêt , about 20km north of the central southwestern city of Limoges.

A team from the French national archaeological agency INRAP discovered the site near the village of Chamborêt, about 20km north of Limoges. (Photo: © INRAP)

Roman ruins

This site appears to have been abandoned for centuries. But it was revived in the third century AD during the Roman occupation of the area. Archaeologists have found many brick and tile fragments from that period; some showed signs of heating, suggesting there had been fires in the area.

The source of the freshwater spring itself appears to have been enclosed by a wooden box buried in a hole filled with flat rocks. This, in turn, supplied water to the landscaped lake surrounded by an arc or wall of granite blocks, containing fragments of third- and fourth-century pottery.

The Roman ruins were built on top of the ancient site. 'Water has played an important role in agriculture since the earliest times,' the researchers said .

Archaeologists also found many late Roman coins and a piece of pottery depicting part of a face. It is attributed to a deity or Medusa, a popular motif in late Roman times and believed to ward off evil. The ceramic surface appears to have been placed on top to represent the water god.

Ancient weapons

Although the Roman ruins around the Chamborêt spring are now the most prominent, there are signs that it was frequented by humans in much more ancient times.

The ceramic face of a deity or Medusa - a snake-haired figure believed by the Romans to ward off evil was hung over a pool or basin.

Archaeologists have also found several coins at the site, including one depicting the Roman myth of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf.

Archaeologists have unearthed several flint fragments at the site, including a piece of the "Grand Pressigny" dagger , named after the archaeological site of Grand-Pressigny in central France, where some of these long Neolithic blades have been found.