Chamalières
Encyclopedia
Chamalières is a commune
in the Puy-de-Dôme
department in Auvergne
in central France
.
Chamalières is the third-largest town in the department and lies about 150 miles (241 km) from Lyon
.
s, most of them anthropomorphic standing figures, also including images of limbs and internal organs, dated by associated coins to the first century, were recovered from the shrine at the mineral springs known as the Source des Roches ("Rock Spring"). An inscribed lead tablet
found at the spring is a major source of information on the Gaulish language
. A comparable cache of Gaulish ex-voto were recovered from a sanctuary at the sources of the Seine
, sacred to Sequana
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme is a department in the centre of France named after the famous dormant volcano, the Puy-de-Dôme.Inhabitants were called Puydedomois until December 2005...
department in Auvergne
Auvergne (région)
Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
in central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Chamalières is the third-largest town in the department and lies about 150 miles (241 km) from Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
.
History
Several thousand wooden Gallo-Roman ex-votoEx-voto
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or divinity. It is given in fulfillment of a vow or in gratitude or devotion...
s, most of them anthropomorphic standing figures, also including images of limbs and internal organs, dated by associated coins to the first century, were recovered from the shrine at the mineral springs known as the Source des Roches ("Rock Spring"). An inscribed lead tablet
Chamalières Tablet
The Chamalières Tablet, , is a lead tablet, six centimeters by four, that was discovered in 1971 in Chamalières, France, at the Source des Roches excavation. The text is written in the Gaulish language, with cursive Latin letters. It is one of the longest extant texts in Gaulish, giving it great...
found at the spring is a major source of information on the Gaulish language
Gaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...
. A comparable cache of Gaulish ex-voto were recovered from a sanctuary at the sources of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, sacred to Sequana
Sequana
In Gallo-Roman religion, Sequana was the goddess of the river Seine, particularly the springs at the source of the Seine, and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani...
.
People
- Raoul LufberyRaoul LufberyGervais Raoul Lufbery was aFrench-American fighter pilot and flying ace in World War I. Because he served in both French aviation, and later the United States Army Air Service in World War I, he is sometimes listed as a French ace and sometimes as an American ace, though all but one of his 17...
(1885–1918), French-American fighter pilot and flying ace in World War I.
Further reading
- Romeuf, Anne-Marie, and Monique Dumontet. Les ex-voto gallo-romains de la source des roches à Chamalières (Puy-de-Dôme) (Clermont-Ferrand:Musée Bargoin) 1980. ISBN 978-2-7351-0640-0
External links
- Official website
- ex-votos from the Source des Roches on display at the Musée Bargoin, Clermont-FerrandClermont-FerrandClermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
.