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Origin and history

The tower of Vesone, located in Périgueux, Dordogne, is the vestige of a Gallo-Roman temple built in the second century (or end of the first century), dedicated to Vesunna, the tutelary goddess of the Petrocores. This sanctuary, surrounded by a rectangular peribol of 1.5 hectares, combined a Celtic fanum (sacred circular structure) and a Roman temple with columns, illustrating the cultural fusion of the era. The tower, with a diameter of 19.60 meters and a height of 24.46 meters today, was the cella (most sacred part), accessible by a six-column pronaos and a peristyle of 23 columns.

The east breach of the tower, nine meters wide, is often attributed to the legend of Saint Front hunting demons, but in reality results from partial collapse after the removal of blocks from the entrance door. The first excavations, initiated in 1751 by Bishop Machéco de Prémeaux, were interrupted by a panic of the workers. Encountered in 1820 by the Count of Taillefer and Joseph de Mourcin, they revealed a circular wall thick of 2 meters, suggesting a peristyle. In 1846, the tower was classified as a Historic Monument, and subsequent excavations (1894, 1906-1909) confirmed its role as a temple dedicated to Tutela Vesunnae, a local protective deity.

The site, which was ceded to the city of Périgueux in 1833, was destroyed when the Périgueux-Brive railway (1860) was developed, erasing part of the temple's enclosure. The preserved remains, including capitals and columns, attest to a rich decoration, combining Gallic and Roman traditions. The cult of Vesunna, comparable to that of Nemaususus in Nîmes, reflects the importance of Romanized local deities. Today, the tower stands in a public garden, close to the Vesunna Museum, which exhibits the remains of the Domus des Bouquets.

The architecture of the temple, unique in Aquitaine, combines a circular Celtic plan with Roman elements (podium, pronaos). The tower wall, thick 2.10 meters at the base, rests on the rock, giving it an original height of 27 meters. The inscriptions discovered, like TVTELAE A[VGVSTAE] VESVNNAE, confirm its sacred character. The initial assumptions of a temple dedicated to Isis (Taillefer County) were invalidated by these epigraphic evidences.

The 20th century excavations, led by Charles Durand, revealed the peribol and its galleries, as well as elements of interior decoration (painted with tile mortar, ornamental plates). The tower, a communal property since 1894, is now a symbol of the ancient Périgord, classified in 1846. Its present state, marked by the breach and absence of the peristyle, bears witness to the transformations undergone from antiquity to modern times.

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