Lac d'Antre et sanctuaire gallo-romain d'Héria

Villards-d'Héria

In the Haut-Jura, a small lake lies at the bottom of a rocky cirque, at the foot of the cliff called the Roche d'Antre. Above the village of Villards-d'Héria, it received one of the great Gallo-Roman sanctuaries of Franche-Comté. The Historic Monuments record describes it as a ‘confederal’ sanctuary of the Sequani, made up of an upper sanctuary, at the lakeshore, and a lower sanctuary, around the Pont des Arches. At the lakeshore, part of the farm rests on the foundations of a large rectangular temple, and one sees traces of a circular temple as well as large scattered architectural blocks, including a collapsed arch. Recent research reads there a temple of Mars Augustus, whose oldest known remains date from the late 1st century BC or the early 1st century AD. A document from the heritage partners of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté speaks of a temple of Mars and Bellona on the site of the farm. The excavations of L. Lerat, from 1960 to 1982, then a research programme launched in 2019, have advanced knowledge, but the chronology remains poorly documented. It is thought that the particularity of the place, a lake whose overflow reappears lower down, may have motivated the builders' choice; this is a hypothesis. At the Pont des Arches, one can see remains of temples, basins and a sacred fountain.

POP — Sanctuaire gallo-romain de Villards-d'Héria (Mérimée PA00102102) ↗

Getting there: The sanctuary has been inscribed as a Historic Monument since 1992; the land is partly private (the lake farm) and partly communal, so do not enter private properties. The lower sanctuary, at the Pont des Arches, can be visited by guided tour only, with several departures a day; seasons and prices to be checked with the commune. A waymarked path follows the Héria as far as the lac d'Antre. The ancient blocks around the lake are mentioned in the official record, but their accessibility has not been verified.

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

Ambient sound