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Origin and history

The sanctuary of the Bouchauds, located in Saint-Cybardeaux (Charente), is a Gallo-Roman complex of the Upper Empire, dominated by a theatre of 105.60 m in diameter, the largest of Aquitaine. Built in the first century, it could accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 spectators. The site, located near the Roman road of Agrippa (Saintes-Lyon), overlooks the valleys of Charente and Nouère, at a strategic crossroads.

The sanctuary, on the top of the hill, consists of two sets of temples: one dating from the first century (Celtic octagonal temple and Greco-Roman rectangular temple), the other from the late second or early third century (two square fana). A statue of Mercury in gold silver was discovered there, although its connection with local worship remains uncertain. The excavations revealed coins from the first century BC, suggesting a pre-Roman occupation.

Discovered in 1865 by Jean Gontier, the theatre was partially cleared before being classified as a Historic Monument in 1881. Ruined, Gontier committed suicide on the site in 1894. Repurchased in 1900 by Solange Laporte-Bisquit, the excavations resumed under the direction of Father Camille de La Croix, revealing a secondary agglomeration possibly identified as Sermanicomagus on the Table de Puisinger. The theatre, linked to imperial worship, was used for religious ceremonies combining Celtic and Roman traditions.

The site, still privately owned, is open to the public. It hosts guided tours, summer activities such as Gallo-Roman Nights, and the Sarabandes des Bouchauds, a festival. The thermal baths and adjacent habitat have not yet been thoroughly searched, leaving shades on the exact extent of the agglomeration.

Ranked again in 1992 for its sanctuary, the site illustrates the romanization of Gaul, where are alongside native (octogonal) and Roman (theatre, fana) architectures. The absence of inscriptions prevents the identification of venerated deities, although Mercury, a major deity in Gaul according to Caesar, is a hypothesis. The theatre, with its stone stands reserved for elites, reflects a social hierarchy marked at ceremonies.

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