Fontaines Salées et sanctuaire de source de Saint-Père

Saint-Père

At the foot of the hill of Vézelay, on the bank of the Cure, salty, gaseous springs rise where two faults meet. Around 2300 BC, people were already extracting salt there in oak wells, part of which is still visible. The cult itself is attested only in the Roman period. In the 1st century, a first sanctuary formed around a salt spring: it has no temple, only a stone basin at the centre of an enclosure some thirty metres across, surrounded by a covered gallery. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, a second, larger sanctuary was organised around another spring, with a large entrance, a columned gallery and a wide paved basin fed with fresh water. In this basin, a stone offering was found: a human head accompanied by triangles, which are female symbols. Baths were built in the 1st century then enlarged in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The cult ended at the latest in the 4th century, when Roman power declined and Christianity advanced. Buried in the 18th century, the springs were rediscovered only in 1934.

DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté — Le site des Fontaines Salées à Saint-Père ↗

Getting there: Route de Pierre-Perthuis, at Saint-Père (Yonne), five minutes from Vézelay. Site and archaeological museum (11 rue de l'Abbé-Pissier) open from 1 April to about All Saints' Day, with a midday break and times that change according to the month; paid entry, guided tours by booking (town hall, 03 86 33 26 62). Coordinates: ‘Les Fontaines Salées’ in OpenStreetMap.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound