Pilier d'Yzeures-sur-Creuse, Roman monumental column at musée Minerve, Yzeures-sur-Creuse, France
This limestone column displays carved reliefs of Roman deities and Greek mythological heroes arranged across multiple levels of its nine-meter height. The structure uses a system of steps and recesses at different depths to make the upper sculptures easier to see from the ground.
Construction workers found twenty-one stone blocks from this third-century monument in 1895 while digging near the Notre-Dame church foundation. The discovery showed this was a late Roman-era structure that required skilled stonework to create.
The carved figures of Jupiter, Mars, Hercules, and Perseus tell us this was a major Roman religious center. These deities show what mattered most to the people who lived here in ancient times.
You can examine the reconstructed column segments and archaeological finds at the Minerva Museum, which is located near where the pieces were originally found. The museum setting makes it easy to see all the parts together and understand how they fit.
The column was pulled from the ground in pieces and later reassembled in the museum, with each segment restored to its original position. This reconstruction process shows visitors how archaeologists piece together ancient monuments from broken fragments.
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