Eglise Saint-Pierre-l'Estrier (ancienne)

Religious heritage, Romanesque in Autun
  • 11th century church where the diatrete vase, unique in France, was found.

  • The church dates back to the 11th century, on the site of a small Paleo-Christian basilica or monastery attested in 843 as Saint-Pierre, close to the then church of Saint-Étienne. The site also features a cemetery that was used before Christianity and again from the 3rd to 5th centuries. Just 50 m from the church is the first inscription mentioning Christ in Roman Gaul, dating from the same period: the Greek inscription of Pectarios.

    In the mid-18th century, part of the church of...
    The church dates back to the 11th century, on the site of a small Paleo-Christian basilica or monastery attested in 843 as Saint-Pierre, close to the then church of Saint-Étienne. The site also features a cemetery that was used before Christianity and again from the 3rd to 5th centuries. Just 50 m from the church is the first inscription mentioning Christ in Roman Gaul, dating from the same period: the Greek inscription of Pectarios.

    In the mid-18th century, part of the church of Saint-Etienne and some Lower-Empire burial mausoleums were still visible. A report from 1750 described the church of Saint-Pierre as "very ugly and irregular", but the church still had its bell tower and sacristy, which were reported to have been destroyed in 1836, when the church was used as a barn. An excavation campaign, which covered the adjoining Paleo-Christian cemetery from June to August 2020, uncovered 150 burials, some of which included sandstone sarcophagi, tile casings, wooden or lead coffins... One of the lead coffins has remained closed since the beginning and should reveal its secrets at the end of the excavation. There are also a number of valuable objects, including a glass diatrete vase - the first to be discovered in France.
Openings
Openings
  • All year 2024
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