A major archaeological research programme has begun at the ancient sanctuary of Source-Seine in Burgundy, the birthplace of the River Seine, which flows through the heart of Paris.
More than six decades after the last major investigations at the site, archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) have launched a new four-year excavation campaign to reassess one of France’s most significant — yet remarkably understudied — ancient sanctuaries.
The project, entitled “At the Sources of Sequana: A Study of the Ancient Sanctuary of Source-Seine”, will run from 2026 to 2029, and will investigate more deeply the Gallo-Roman healing sanctuary devoted to the goddess Sequana, from which the Seine was named.
The site is located in Burgundy’s Côte-d’Or area and has long held archaeological and symbolic significance. Roman worshipers came to the sanctuary to pray to Sequana, believed to have healing powers associated with the sacred spring.
In return for healing or success, pilgrims left behind votive offerings as a gesture of gratitude. Archaeologists unearthed more than 1,000 offerings of bronze, wood and stone in previous excavations, including statues of human figures, animals and even body parts and internal organs. The collection now in the Archaeological Museum of Dijon is one of the best reference points for study of Gallo-Roman religious practices in France.
Even though the sanctuary was important to the study, it had not been well understood compared to other ancient religious sites excavated in recent decades.
According to the research team’s statement on the new project—“This is a nationally significant sanctuary, but much of our knowledge is based on investigations carried out nearly a century ago.”
The excavation programme employs archival research, modern archaeological surveys and new field investigations to re-evaluate the sanctuary based on modern scientific methods.
Archaeologists are conducting geophysical surveys to determine the full extent of the sanctuary and locate buried structures still hidden beneath the landscape. Researchers are also exploring how the surrounding environment evolved over time and how the sacred springs influenced the development of the site.
The sanctuary itself is in an unusual setting. Visitors arriving at the source of the Seine walk into an archaeological site and then a 19th-century park, a landscape more associated with Parisian gardens than Burgundy countryside.
After early excavations in the 1830s confirmed the existence of the old sanctuary, Baron Haussmann— the architect of modern Paris— ordered the city of Paris in 1864 to purchase the land. The idea was to create a symbol of the French capital and the river that flows through it.
The site was then transformed into a landscaped park with pathways, groves and an artificial grotto to recreate the sacred spring. In the centre of it is a statue of the Seine nymph, which is recognised as the start of the river.
However, the antiquities of the old sanctuary were never fully incorporated into the park’s development. The first results of the 2026 campaign have shown both the potential of the site and the damage from time.
Ancient walls, staircases, thresholds and water pipes, which were abandoned after excavations between the 1920s and 1950s, have now been unearthed again and digitally mapped with modern technology.
At the same time, many structures described in earlier excavations have deteriorated severely due to erosion and frost damage. One sacred spring pipe, once almost 15 metres long, has largely disappeared, while an important basin connected to the spring has deteriorated into what archaeologists described as “a pile of unmortared stones.”
Sources : Inrap
