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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The hypogee of the Dunes, also called the hypogee of Mellebaude, is a funeral monument of the High Middle Ages, probably built in the 7th or 8th century. It was accidentally discovered in 1878 during military work on the Dunes plateau in Poitiers. Father Camille de La Croix, an archaeologist, tried to obtain permission to search the site, but fell on an adjacent land, the Chiron of martyrs, where he exhumed 313 burials and a second hypogee locked in an octagonal tower.

Ranked a historic monument in 1886, then its archaeological garden in 1952, the hypogee was protected by a neo-Merovingian building in 1908. Designed by Abbé Mellebaude as a funeral chapel, he preserves traces of polychrome paintings, bas-reliefs and sculptures unique in Europe. The building, divided into two spaces, included an arcosolium for the tomb of Mellebaude and sarcophagi, some for unbaptized newborns.

The carved stones, decorated with Christian symbols (snakes, fish, ivy), could come from other poitevin monuments. Roman glass cabochons and Bible inscriptions are inlaid. Closed to the public since 1998 for restoration, the hypogee exceptionally opens during Heritage Days. Its definitive reopening depends on the work in progress.

The hypogee illustrates Merovingian funeral practices and the syncretism between Roman traditions and emerging Christianity. Its altar, the only liturgical vestige, and its decorations make it a rare testimony of 7th century religious art in the West. The surrounding necropolis, with its 35 burials around the building, highlights its role as a place of collective memory.

Owned by the commune of Poitiers, the site is also labeled Musée de France. Its restricted access aims to preserve its frescoes and sculptures, threatened by erosion. Visits, by appointment for specialists, make it possible to study this exceptional heritage, waiting for a sustainable public valuation.

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