CIMRM 917 - Mithraeum. Les Bolards, Nuites-Saint-Georges, France.

Translated from Mithraeum.eu:

The Mithraeum of Les Bolards is located in the eastern part of parcel 775 of the cadastral plan of Nuits-Saint-Georges, in the Côte-d'Or. Soundings were carried out in 1938-39 in this area by local excavators. A new intervention in 1948 was to unearth important material, most of which is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Dijon. The walls enclose a basement of modest dimensions: 8 x 5.50 m. The stairs consist of three steps of unequal length and width, averaging 1.50 x 0.30 m. Two of these steps are in pinkish beige limestone and seem to come from the Premeaux quarries, a few kilometers south of Nuit-Saint-Georges. From the inside of the temple we find the benches, deteriorated especially on the side of the central corridor and the walls. However, they appear clearly on 1.25 m wide and 50 cm high. Two vertical slabs, in place, serve as siding on each side of the stairs. The central corridor is about three meters wide. At the bottom of the temple, there is a set of three "moellons" (rubble?) resting on a stone base embedded in a compact mortar, 1.50 m long, 45 cm wide and 40 cm high. This has the appearance of a high step of stairs contiguous to the west wall. Fragments of inscription on polished limestone plate bear well drawn letters. It may be supposed that above this device was the Mithras tauroctony. It was indeed a little to the west that had been exhumed, in 1948, the heads wearing the Phrygian cap, the hoof of a bull and the fragments of inscription on an oolitic stone which transmits the start of the name of Mithras. One meter outside the South wall, near the southwest corner of the temple, a small circular structure, 70 cm in diameter, appears to be the edge of a well. This could fit the indispensable bowl or jar which confirms the role of water in the Mithraic ritual. At Les Bolards, in August 1946, a large hypocaust, partially excavated by previous diggers, on a piece of land which had to be returned to cultivation, is located about fifty meters north-east of the mithraeum and suggests the existence of baths. In addition, a group of sanctuaries being excavated, one of which is traversed by a major canal parallel to the walls, adjoins the temple of Mithras. A long curved wall, seeming to delimit the peribole of these sanctuaries, marks the annex rooms of the temple. Recently unveiled, their destination ready for discussion: located to the south-west of the mithraeum proper, of trapezoidal shape, they could have sheltered certain rites of initiation, to serve as meeting rooms to the mysteries or of instruction rooms for the applicants.

From V.J. Walters, "The cult of Mithras in the Roman Provinces of Gaul", 1974, p.11 f. (Preview here)

4. Les Bolards (Nuits St. Georges) Site : The Roman remains at Les Bolards are located about 1.5 km to the south-east of Nuits St. Georges, on the left bank of the Meuzin, situated in the territory of the Aedui, about 5-6 km to the south of the frontier with the Lingones and 3 km to the west of the most frequented road in Roman Gaul, that which linked Lyon with Trier and Cologne; the Roman settlement lies, therefore, at an important point of communication. The ancient ruins, which stretch over an area of about 12 hectares (30 acres), appear to be those of a commercial and industrial vicus of some importance. In 1948 Thevenot produced a report on all the known material from the site, but, although this contains a useful catalogue of recorded finds, it gives only scant information on the structural remains which had been unearthed. It is with a view to obtaining more detailed information on the remains that Dr. E. Planson has recently begun a systematic investigation of the site, but only interim reports have so far been published. The report of 1948 [2] This report indicates that a short distance to the north of the presumed remains of a forum, at a depth of 1.30 m-1.40 m beneath the surface, a flight of three steps, length 2 m, descending in a westerly direction, were discovered. At the foot of these steps was a room of which neither the internal nor external measurements are known. Nor, indeed, is there any indication of the building material employed. The only information we possess concerns the statues and fragments of relief found in the room. The statues of a lion and of two torchbearers were found by the entrance, at the foot of the three steps (Nos. 22-24), and, inside the room, were discovered a number of fragments of sculpture, including the foot and hoof of a bull, the mouth and jaw of a dog, and two heads wearing 1 T. Desjardins, op. cit.t pp. 16-7. 2 E. Thevenot, "La station antique des Bolards & Nuits St. Georges", Gallia, VI (2), 1948, p. 306, fig. 2, no. 4 : Sanctuaire C; CIMRM, I, 917-928. See also p. 163. Phrygian caps which may have come from a cult relief (No. 25). Other finds include various votive offerings, a hand, length 25 cm, holding an offering (patera), and parts of human legs, length 10 cm and 18 cm, scored with lines.[1] Amongst the fragments of interior decoration is a small marble colonnette, now in the archaeological museum at Dijon, Inventory no. 953.13. Height 45 cm, diameter 7 cm, it narrows upwards, ending in a torus; at each end is a hole which probably served to fix the colonnette to its supports. Of delicate workmanship, it is intricately carved with a spiral-like twig pattern of oak leaves and acorns.[2] Also found were three small spherical objects in stone and a number of iron instruments, the point of a spear, length 30 cm, a pair of iron tongs, length 30 cm, and a three-pronged instrument resembling a long thin fork.[3] The iron instruments are now in the archaeological museum at Dijon, Inventory nos. 953.30 and 953.31. Several fragments of local stone record the remains of two inscriptions, said by Thevenot to be of fourth century date:[4] a) ...]n Mythr[...]vp bell... This fragment is now in the archaeological museum at Dijon, Inventory no. 953.8. b) ...] s. a. b[...|]lina coll[...] v.s.l.[m] Of these, only the former can be described with any degree of certainty as a dedication to Mithras. The latter is too fragmentary to permit adequate interpretation. Identification of the building as a Mithraeum In view of the brevity of the report on the structure of the building, its interpretation as a Mithraeum must depend, at the present time, on the evidence of the statues of a lion and two torchbearers, found in situ. 1 Gallia, VI (2), 1948, p. 318, nos. 45 & 44; Esp., Rec. Gaule. XV, p. 96, no. 9068; p. 97, no. 9072. pi. LXXVI; CIMRM, I. 924. 2 Gallia, VI (2), 1948. p. 318, no. 46; p. 303, fig. 10; Esp., Rec. Gaule, XV, p. 97. no. 9073, pi. LXXVI; CIMRM, I, 924. 3 Gallia, VI (2), 1948, p. 318, no. 47, fig. 13; p. 322, nos. 74-6; CIMRM, I, 925. 4 Gallia. VI (2), 1948, App. B 15 b & c, figs. 12 & 14; CIMRM, I, 926; 927. Renewed work on the site, under the direction of Dr. Planson, will, it is hoped, produce more detailed information on the structural remains, and he has already been kind enough to furnish me with the following preliminary report : "Il s'agit probablement d'un grand sanctuaire mithriaque avec quelques salles annexes. Le degagement est actuellement en prods." The recently completed excavations of July and August 1971 have revealed : "A l'ouest, deux salles annexes limitees et, au sud, un mur important dessinant une courbe vers le sud-ouest et se prolongeant a l'est." It was quite normal, in Mithraea found elsewhere, for an attempt to be made to preserve the cave-like quality of the sanctuary, and it certainly appears from the fragmentary description that this building was, at least partially, underground; the steps, discovered at a depth of 1.30 cm-1.40 cm, led down into the cult room. Moreover, the position of the two torchbearer statues at the entrance to the cult room is characteristic of a number of other Mithraea.[1] In the Mithraeum at Oberflorstadt the cult room proper was entered by means of four steps, at the foot of which stood the statuettes of the torchbearers,[2] and at Heddernheim in both Mithraea I and II the torchbearer statuettes evidently stood on either side of the central aisle.[3] In Mithraeum I at Carnuntum the fragmentary remains of the torchbearer figures were discovered at the entrance to the side benches, and the statue of a lion, holding between its forepaws the head of a bull, was found in a position very similar to that of the lion from Les Bolards.[4] Despite the lack of detailed evidence concerning the internal decoration of the cult room, it is clear from the fine quality of the marble colonnette and the well sculptured figures of the torchbearers and lion that considerable care and expense had been lavished on the building. If the preliminary reports of Dr. E. Planson are correct, it may well be a more complex sanctuary than previously supposed, with several rooms annexed.[5] Here, as at Vieu-en-Val-Romey, the great bull-slaying relief has not been found. Only a few minute fragments may come from this relief, and it could be that the main cult representation was deliberately destroyed by those who put an end to the temple's existence, their object being to destroy the relief which was most offensive to them. This may indicate that the Christians were responsible for the desecration of the building. Dating Coins, found in the cult room, form a series from Commodus to the end of the fourth century, but the majority are of emperors at the end of the third century and the fourth century, particularly Diocletian and Constantine. The latest coin is that of Arcadius who reigned A.D. 395-408. The main period of occupation seems, therefore, to have fallen within the third and fourth centuries. The siting of the Mithraeum Excavations have revealed, to the north of the Mithraeum, a hypocaust and also a number of ex votos, consisting of eyes cut into bronze plaques, which call to mind the ex votos discovered at Vieu-en-Val-Romcy. It is possible that the sanctuary at Les Bolards, situated only about 2 km from the thermal spring of La Courtavaux, may have been devoted in part to the cult of healing waters.1 Ex votos for the healing of leg ailments have been found inside the Mithraeum and, to the south-west of the sanctuary, more ex votos of eyes have been discovered. Both here, and at Vieu-en-Val-Romcy, the cult of Mithras and that of healing waters seem to have existed side by side, and, according to Thevenot, there may indeed have been more than one Mithraic sanctuary. A second Mithraeum at Les Bolards Thevenot has suggested that a temple, lying 30-40 m to the south-west of the first sanctuary, may be a second Mithraeum. Inside it were found a marble bust of Venus, a head of Minerva, and several fragments of female heads. None of these finds may necessarily be connected with Mithraic worship, and Thevenot has based his case on two rather doubtful pieces of evidence. The first is a fragment of an inscription, "...] gister." Thevenot, interpreting the word as magister, has commented that this title is known to have been adopted by the head of a Mithraic community in Rome. The title is, however, by no means unique to the Mithraic community; a number of religious colleges at Rome (in particular that of the Arval brothers) had, at their head, a magister who was responsible for the direction of the religious ceremonies. Moreover, the title appears on inscriptions elsewhere in connection with a number of gods and goddesses. There is, therefore, no reason to suppose that the Les Bolards inscription is necessarily Mithraic. The second piece of evidence to which Th6venot has drawn attention is a so-called "solar symbol”, a red and white granite disc, width 70 cm, which comprises a small central circle surrounded by radiating lines.4 Thevenot has compared this with a motif on the column at Cussy.4 This disc motif was certainly regarded as a solar symbol, particularly in the East, but was usually replaced in the West by the bust of Sol or the full figure of Sol, driving his chariot.4 Even if this disc is a solar symbol, we cannot be certain that Mithras was the Sun God worshipped; he was only one amongst a number of such divinities. Of the other finds made at the same time, the head of Minerva7 would not be out of place in a Mithraic context; a similar head was found in the Walbrook Mithraeum,4 but, further work is required on the site before any confident assertion may be made regarding the context of these finds. Another possibly... (the preview breaks off at this point) ADDENDUM (p.163) Mithraeum at Les Bolards (Nuits St. Georges) The results of the renewed work on the site of the Mithraeum at Les Bolards have now been published1 and give much more precise information on the dimensions of the cult room and the building material employed. The cult room measures, internally, 8 m x 5.50 m and its walls are of regular, well cut blocks of stone. The three steps which lead down into the central nave are of unequal length and width, averaging 1.50 m X 30 cm. Two of the steps are of a pinkish buff coloured limestone, probably from the quarries at Premeaux, several kilometres to the south of Nuits St. Georges. The central nave is about 3 m wide with side benches 50 cm high and 1.25 m wide. In front of the back wall are three blocks of stone, resting on a plinth, length 1.50 m, width 45 cm, and height 40 cm. These may well have carried the representation of the bull-slaying scene, and it is not far from this spot that the two heads clothed in Phrygian caps (No. 25, b), the hoof of a bull (No. 25, e), and fragments of an inscription (cf. p. 12) were found in 1948. The floor of the pronaos is covered with a destruction layer containing a quantity of tiles and limestone blocks, some of them moulded. 1 m outside the south wall, near the south-west angle of the cult room, the remains of a small well, diameter 70 cm, have been discovered. Two other rooms, discovered to the south-west of the Mithraeum and bordered on the south by a long curved wall, may have been associated with the cult room. The coins, unearthed in the recent excavations, seem to confirm occupation in the third and fourth centuries. The monuments dicovered in the earlier excavations are illustrated as follows : No. 22 fig. on p. 55. No. 23 fig. on p. 55. No. 24 fig. on p. 57. No. 25, a, c, d figs. on p. 61. No. 25, b figs. on pp. 58, 61. 1. E. Planson, A. Lagrange, A. Minot, P. et L. Herard, "Le Mithraeum des Bolards a Nuits-Saint-Georges", Archeologia, 54, janvier 1973, pp. 55-63 & pl. opp. p. 55.

CIMRM entry

917. In Les Bolards, Nuits-Saint-Georges (Cote d'Or) the remnants of a Mithras sanctuary (C) were discovered in 1932-1939. Thevenot in Annales de Bourgogne, XXI, 1949, 249f; Latomus, IX, 1950, 418f; La Nouvelle Clio, 1950,620; Gallia VII, 1949, 366ff. The exact measures of the Mithraeum are unknown. Via three steps one descended in the vestibulum; the sanctuary itself must have been underground. The entrance lies at the East-side; the apse in the West-side. "Le périmètre réel du temple, l'importance du vestibule, la longueur de la nef centrale et des larges banquettes qui devaientla flanquer, l'agencement de l'abside restent autant d'inconnues fort regrettables".

Bibliography

• E. Thévenot, "La station antique des Bolards à Nuits-Saint-Georges", Gallia 6 (1948) Online here. The discovery of the Mithraeum.
• Agathe Moussion, "L’instrumentum en matière dure d’origine animale du site gallo-romain des Bolards (Côte-d’Or) : étude d’une collection ancienne", in: Revie archeologique de l'Est, 66 (2017), p.153-176. Online here.
• E. Planson &c, "Le mithraeum des Bolards à Nuits-Saint-Georges", in: Archéologia 54 (1973), 54-63.