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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman temple of the Halatte Forest is a votive sanctuary erected in the middle of the first century on an ancient Celtic place of worship. The latter housed a megalith of sandstone and a wooden construction surrounded by palissades, marked by a foundation deposit consisting of a cut head, a container and obsolete Celtic coins. The Roman temple, dedicated to healing, was a place of intense devotion until its abandonment in the early fifth century, with Christianization. The remains, reduced to foundations of 0.5 to 1 metre high, testify to its original extent. The site, used as a quarry after its decline, was covered by the forest before being rediscovered.

Archaeological excavations, conducted between 1873–74 and 1996–1999, revealed more than 1,000 Roman coins (from Tiberius to Gratian), 42 Gaulish coins, as well as ex-votos, fibules, rings and bones of animals. These objects, exhibited at the Museum of Art and Archaeology in Senlis, confirm regular offerings of a fervent Gallo-Roman population. The temple, a typical configuration of Western shrines, combines Celtic elements (the ritual deposit) and Roman (stone architecture). Its registration for historical monuments in 2007 protects the entire site, today in free access.

The Celtic origin of the place is attested by the foundation deposit, a common practice for sacralizing a space before Romanization. The Roman temple, built in stone, replaced the original wooden structures, symbolizing Gallo-Roman acculturation. The currencies discovered, covering four centuries (from the first to the fifth), illustrate the longevity of worship. Ex-votos, often linked to healing requests, suggest a major therapeutic function. The decline of the site coincides with the rise of Christianity, which makes pagan practices obsolete. The remains, though partial, offer a rare testimony of religious syncretisms in Roman Gaul.

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