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Origin and history

Pirelonge Tower is a stone Gallo-Roman funerary pile, 24 metres high, located 1 km south of Saint-Romain-de-Benet (Charente-Maritime). Built under the Roman Empire, it marks the ancient road linking Mediolanum Santonum (Saints) to Burdigala (Bordeaux), mentioned on the table of Puisinger. Its toponym evokes a "long stone", typical of the funeral monuments of that time. Although its exact dating remains uncertain, elements of re-use (like a first century capital) suggest a later construction, probably under the Antonin emperors.

Ranked as early as 1840 among the first French historical monuments, the tower was first described in 1715 by Claude Masse in a state close to the present. It was restored in 1989 to close excavations caused by treasure searches. Unlike other batteries, it does not have an inner chamber but is full, with an exterior trim in large device now gone, with the exception of its well preserved conical crown.

Nineteenth-century excavations revealed a funeral enclosure and burials at its base, confirming its role as a cenotaph dedicated to an important character. Comparable to other piles of the Civitas des Santons (such as those of Aumagne or Ebeon), it is the second highest of Gaul after that of Cinq-Mars. Its isolation in a wooded environment, at the top of an eminence, reinforces its monumental and commemorative character.

The tower illustrates the Gallo-Roman funeral architecture of the southwest, mixing local and imperial influences. Its cardinal alignment and its proximity to the ancient way underline its integration into a ritualized landscape, where these monuments served both as landmarks and as symbols of power for the local elites.

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