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Origin and history

The Pupillin Fanum is a small Gallo-Roman temple of the High Empire (first century BC in the 2nd century), discovered at the end of the 19th century in the forest of Pupillin, in the Jura. Its remains, inscribed in historical monuments since 1987, reveal two superimposed buildings: the first, dated the 1st century under Augustus, has a cella of 7 m side with masonry walls and a wooden gallery; the second, more modest, partially reuses the walls of the first and date of the second century. A terrace of 6×18 m, dug in the nearby rock, probably served as a gathering place or offering.

The initial discovery returned to Abbé Alphonse Guichard (1855–1927), a local archaeologist priest, who searched the site between 1887 and 1890. He found a carved stone (interpreted as a sarcophagus or a trunk with offerings), coins of the second century, and objects like bells. Guichard first believed in a Roman watchtower because of his dominant position on the Jura plain, at 540 m above sea level, before subsequent excavations confirmed his religious nature.

The archaeological campaigns of the 1970s–1980s, led by Jean-Louis Oduze, specify the organization of the monument: two partially superimposed fana (Romanized Celtic Sanctuary), with wooden galleries and dry stone walls. The currencies of the first century (Augustian era) confirm the dating of the first temple, while those of the second century correspond to the second. In 1985–86, additional excavations revealed a pole hole in the north gallery, nails suggesting a wooden structure, as well as an iron knife and a lead wire weight near the ruins.

The site, located 1.5 km south of Pupillin and 2 km east of Buvilly, dominates the Arboisian vineyard from the side of the Lons-le-Saunier plateau. Built on limestone and marnous scali, it is bounded by geological faults. The adjacent terrace, covered with crushed stones and tiles, may have served as an outdoor place of worship. The fanum illustrates the integration of Celtic religious practices into the Roman world, with local offerings and rituals.

After the excavations of Abbé Guichard, the site fell into oblivion until it was rediscovered in the 1960s by Mr. Mathieu. The restorations of the 1980s focused on preserving the remains and clarifying access routes. Today, the fanum remains a rare testimony of Gallo-Roman rural shrines in Franche-Comté, linked to the presence of a nearby Roman villa searched by Guichard.

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