Sanctuaire de la Fontaine, Roman sanctuary in Nîmes, France

The Sanctuaire de la Fontaine is an ancient sanctuary in the Jardins de la Fontaine, built around the spring on which Nîmes was founded. Its Augusteum combined an altar to Augustus set in the centre of a nymphaeum, a theatre or odeon, and a vaulted building known as the Temple of Diana. Two sections of pale ashlar stonework with Classical moldings survive at the water's edge: a short platform whose cornice shelters five baluster-shaped uprights, and a taller terrace wall.

The site began as a place of worship at the spring sacred to the god Nemausus. Shortly before the start of the era, an altar to Augustus was built there, and a sanctuary of the imperial cult gradually took shape around the fountain, with a nymphaeum, a theatre and a vaulted building. It was probably funded by the local population rather than ordered by Augustus, and a triple portico linked it to the city.

The imperial cult here was led by a municipal flamin and sevirs, priests whose exact duties remain unclear but whose office was prestigious. Nîmes is one of the rare cities with two cult sites: this Augusteum and the Maison Carrée on the forum. The sanctuary was probably built by local inhabitants, not ordered by Augustus.

You can enter the grounds year-round through the main entrance of the Jardins de la Fontaine and explore the remaining structures at your own pace. The pathways are well-maintained, and visiting requires no special background knowledge to understand and enjoy the ruins.

The vaulted building known as the Temple of Diana may never have been a temple: some indications point to a library, and no hypothesis has yet been proven. The sanctuary also had a theatre or odeon and an altar set in the centre of a nymphaeum.