Pagan iconoclasts? Some case studies from Roman Burgundy during Late Antiquity

Authors

  • Pierre-Antoine Lamy Chercheur associé UMR 6298 Artehis

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5617/acta.10436

Keywords:

re-carving, symbolic re-carving, Roman Burgundy, Late Antiquity

Abstract

 

This paper examines case studies from Roman Burgundy involving suspected symbolic recarving during Late Antiquity. Is it possible that religious desecration took place before the Theodosian Codex, and if so, why? Can we differentiate them from cases of wanton violence? The ambiguous cases found at the “Sources de la Seine” sanctuary (Côte-d'Or) and Entrains-sur-Nohain (Nièvre) help demonstrate the methodological difficulties involved in understanding the destruction of ancient sculptures. Through an investigation of selected examples from Sainte-Pallaye, Escolives-Saintes-Camille, and Sens (Yonne), we see that while desecration was a reality, the variety of methods employed were linked to the destination of the mutilated sculpture, as well as local customs and legal contexts.

 

On cover:
Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images).

E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686

ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

Late Roman wall, the partition immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with reused blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyneamd WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images)

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Published

2023-08-01

How to Cite

Lamy, P.-A. (2023) “Pagan iconoclasts? Some case studies from Roman Burgundy during Late Antiquity”, Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia, 33(19 N.S.), pp. 147–164. doi: 10.5617/acta.10436.

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 19 N.S. (2021)

Section

Part 1: New Research on Late-Antique Recycling

License

Copyright (c) 2023 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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