THE SEMI TROGLODYTE CHAPEL OF NOTRE DAME DES SEPT DORMANTS MARMOUTIER ABBEY, TOURS, FRANCE
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-10-26

The monastery of Marmoutier (Tours, France) founded by Saint Martin c. 370 is built partly in the Loire Valley and partly on the plateau of Rougemont. According to Sulpice Severus, saint Martin’s biographer, and other early texts such as Gregorius of Tours’s works, the cliff is occupied from the beginning of the monastic community which excavated caves to live in them. It has been used throughout the history of the abbey as evidenced by extensive underground quarries often reused for wine production.
Excavations carried out in 2016 and 2017 on the site of Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Dormants Chapel, on the first western terrace of the monastery, allowed to restitute the topographical and functional evolution of the place between the very beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the end of the 19th century. Several collapses of the hillside and old « excavations » removed much of the remains and almost the whole stratification. The analysis thus focused on the few preserved cavities and masonry, as well as on the rocky ground where many post holes and tombs are still visible. A small semi-underground cemetery developed in the Early Middle Ages, which may be contemporary with troglodyte occupation further west. A small oratory is built around the 8th-9th century, which is replaced in the 12th century by a larger Romanesque chapel, partly dug into the rock and partly built in stone. After several collapses and the destruction of the building in the 18thcentury, a small chapel is built in 1881 which still survives.


Author(s): Morleghem, Daniel (UMR 7324 Citeres-LAT) - Lorans, Elisabeth (Université de Tours, UMR 7324 Citeres-LAT)