Archaeologists excavating one of the largest religious complexes in Roman Gaul have uncovered an unusually rich collection of sculptures and reliefs, alongside new evidence of an elaborate water system that may have played a role in ancient rituals.
A fresh excavation campaign at the Saint-Martin-au-Val sanctuary in Chartres, France, has produced a series of rare discoveries at a site already regarded as one of the most important surviving Roman religious complexes in the country.
Among the most significant finds are numerous fragments of statues and sculpted reliefs recovered from around and inside a large central basin. Archaeologists believe some depict mythological scenes and may once have formed part of elaborate sculptural groups decorating the façade of the monumental building.
The quantity of statuary is particularly significant because such remains are rarely found in Chartres.
The discoveries were made during the 2026 excavation campaign, which resumed this summer following a four-year break. Researchers are concentrating on a monumental fountain complex associated with a building dedicated to Apollo.
Central basin proves far more complex than expected
Archaeologists initially believed the central basin was a relatively straightforward square structure. Excavation has instead revealed a considerably more sophisticated arrangement.
More than two metres deep and lined with white marble, the basin includes what appears to be a platform on its eastern side, reached by steps and apparently separated from the water by a balustrade.
Researchers have also identified a drain or overflow connected to the platform by a pipe. Together, the features point to an advanced system for controlling water, possibly designed to create a carefully staged visual display.
The basin itself may also have had a ritual function
An opening in its western edge appears to have provided access to the water, leading archaeologists to suggest that visitors could have entered the basin to perform ritual ablutions before proceeding further into the sanctuary or towards the building dedicated to Apollo.
The continuing excavation is intended to establish precisely how the platform, basin and surrounding architecture worked together.
Rare sculptures emerge from the water complex
The sculptural discoveries have added another dimension to the excavation.
Numerous reliefs and fragments of statues have been recovered from both inside and around the central basin. They include detailed figurative scenes thought to have represented mythological subjects.
Researchers believe the pieces may have belonged to sculptural groups positioned along the façade overlooking the main basin.
Their discovery is especially notable in Chartres, where surviving Roman statuary is uncommon.
The finds follow earlier discoveries at Saint-Martin-au-Val that have demonstrated the site’s remarkable state of preservation, including sections of an ancient suspended wooden ceiling.
The City of Chartres said the newly discovered sculptural decoration represented a major addition to knowledge of the ancient heritage of Chartres and the surrounding region.
One of Roman Gaul’s largest sanctuaries
The scale of Saint-Martin-au-Val makes the discoveries particularly important.
The sanctuary stood immediately outside ancient Autricum, the Roman predecessor of modern Chartres and an important centre of the Carnutes.
Constructed between the late first and early second centuries AD, the religious complex occupied more than 10 hectares less than a kilometre south of the administrative and political centre of the Roman city.
Its monumental temple and associated walkways covered almost eight hectares, while a portico running along the eastern side incorporated several additional buildings.
The sanctuary would have been capable of receiving large numbers of people during major civic and religious celebrations.
To the north, beneath the podium of a building dedicated to Apollo, archaeologists have uncovered a 655-square-metre structure containing basins and richly decorated with marble and wall paintings.
Its architectural plan has so far proved unusual in the Roman world, although researchers have drawn comparisons with monumental fountain complexes.
Three basins and an elaborate water display
Earlier excavations transformed archaeologists’ understanding of this part of the sanctuary.
Research carried out in 2022 was intended partly to confirm the existence of a second basin. Instead, excavation revealed two additional basins roughly six metres apart, creating a sequence of three water features.
The central basin is square, deep and lined with white marble. Another white-marble basin further south appears to have served a more ceremonial purpose, complementing an ornamental basin decorated with a quatrefoil design.
Together, the discoveries suggest water played a prominent architectural — and potentially ritual — role within the sanctuary.
The 2026 campaign was launched to investigate that possibility more closely. Archaeologists set out to completely excavate the central basin and examine the eastern wall of the structure, which had previously only been partially exposed.
Their findings have already demonstrated that the architecture was considerably more elaborate than expected.
Further excavation is expected to clarify the relationship between the basin and its newly discovered platform, as well as determine whether a decorative feature once stood at its centre.
Researchers are also tracing the eastern enclosure wall in an attempt to understand different phases in the building’s construction and demolition.
An archaeological ‘open-air laboratory’
Saint-Martin-au-Val has been investigated by archaeologists for more than two decades, repeatedly producing unusually well-preserved evidence of life in Roman Chartres.
One of its most remarkable discoveries came in 2016, when archaeologists uncovered remains of a suspended wooden ceiling — an exceptionally fragile architectural element rarely preserved for nearly two millennia.
Later investigations revealed the monumental fountain complex and its series of basins.
The latest sculptures now provide researchers with another category of evidence through which to reconstruct the appearance and religious function of the sanctuary.
According to the City of Chartres, the preservation of the site offers an important new perspective on religious life in the capital of the Carnutes.
Mayor of Chartres Ladislas Vergne and deputy mayor for culture and heritage Véronique Domagalski described Saint-Martin-au-Val as an exceptional witness to the city’s past, saying the latest excavation was revealing further details about a sanctuary archaeologists have studied for more than 20 years.
The municipality has described the site as an “open-air laboratory” for archaeological research, with the excavation programme supported by the French state.
Archaeologists presented their latest work to visitors throughout September and during the European Heritage Days.
With the central basin still being investigated, researchers hope the final stages of the 2026 campaign will establish how its sophisticated water system, monumental architecture and newly discovered sculptures combined to create one of Roman Gaul’s most impressive religious settings.
Sources : City of Chartres – Chartres Archaeology
