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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman shrine of Mazamas, also known as the Chiron Sanctuary, is an archaeological site located 4 km south of Saint-Léomer, in the department of Vienna (New Aquitaine). It consists of two classic twin temples, built in the 1st century AD at the location of an anterior fanum dating back to the 1st century BC. This first building, of square plan with a peripheral gallery, was probably destroyed by fire before being replaced by the Flavian sanctuary. Together, surrounded by a 3,500 m2 peribol, marks one of the largest sacred areas in central-western France.

The site, occupied as early as the Middle Neolithic, experienced a phase of monumentalism in the Upper Empire, with stone temples replacing perishable materials. A metallurgical workshop was identified for the Latenian period, although its religious use was not confirmed. The sanctuary was abandoned in the third century and then reinvested in the Middle Ages by an agricultural hamlet mentioned in the twelfth century. Few medieval structures remain in the ancient enclosure, except for a well overlapping the peribol wall.

After post-Second World War looting, the site was recognized in 1964 by François Eygun, then methodically searched by Emile de Lavergne, owner and professor of medicine, for more than thirty years. Ranked a historic monument in 1973, it was acquired by the commune of Saint-Léomer in 2017 for its presentation. Remnants include temple foundations, an eastern double porch, and bases that could support statues or columns.

The sanctuary is located at the southern edge of the Pictons territory, near the borders of the Bituriges Cubes and the Lemovices. No secondary agglomeration has been identified nearby, although an ancient road linking Poitiers to La Souterraine passes not far. The site, fed by neighbouring ponds, illustrates the importance of rural places of worship in the Gallo-Roman organization, before its gradual decline from the third century.

The excavations revealed traces of material recovery after abandonment, with walls either completely disassembled (leaving full trenches) or partially preserved to their foundations. The masonry of the temples, made of small apparatus bellows, contrasts with earlier techniques in pise. The absence of extensive prospecting limits the knowledge of the surrounding occupations, although there are indications of continuity of agricultural activity up to the medieval period.

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