Sanctuaire de la source de l'Étuvée et déesse Acionna

Orléans

In Orléans, the fontaine de l'Étuvée was originally a spring, captured since Antiquity. In 1822 it was emptied to find out whether it could still supply the town's fountains. In an old pit, a square stone was found with a dedication to the goddess Acionna: a certain Capillus, son of Illiomarus, offered a portico and its ornaments in thanks for a vow. The style dates the stone to the 2nd century; the original has disappeared and only drawings and a cast in the musée d'Orléans remain. The Inrap excavations, in 2006 and 2007, found the sanctuary itself: a courtyard with a portico, a small square temple called a fanum, basins and a water supply. Ex-votos in the form of stylised faces were deposited there, and a statuette of a female deity was buried shortly before the destruction of the place. Pits of the mid-2nd century BC show early use, but the cult is clear only after the Roman conquest, with a large enclosure in the 1st century. Acionna is thought to be the goddess of this spring. The sanctuary was rebuilt in the 4th century, then destroyed and turned into a cemetery.

Inrap — Un sanctuaire antique à la fontaine de l'Étuvée, Orléans ↗

Getting there: Urban site in the Clos de la Fontaine quarter, avenue des Droits-de-l'Homme in Orléans. The land was excavated before the development of a new neighbourhood: no visible remains have been confirmed. The guided tour ‘places of worship, funerary spaces and deities’ by the Ville d'art et d'histoire is no longer offered. Coordinates: ‘Fontaine de l'Étuvée’ bus stop in OpenStreetMap, valid within a few hundred metres.

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

Ambient sound