Saint-Roman Abbey
The Saint-Roman Abbey is a cave monastery near the city of Beaucaire in the south of France . It bears the name of St. Romanus of Condat .
The monastery is located in wooded hills above the Rhône valley . These were already settled by hunters in prehistoric times. Towards the end of the 5th century, hermits then settled on the hills of Aiguille and Saint-Roman . Little by little the monks enlarged the natural caves and built a chapel, cells and common rooms. Probably in the 7th century they adopted the Benedictine order . Although the abbey was later only a priory , which was subordinate to the Abbey of Psalmody at Aigues-Mortes , it still had privileges due to its importance. The antipope Urban V opened a papal school in the 14th century, but it only existed for a short time. When the abbey was fortified in the 14th century, the cave remained largely unchanged; the temperature here was between fourteen and sixteen degrees Celsius all year round. In 1538 the Psalmody Abbey was converted into a Canon School and Saint-Roman became independent. A small castle was built in the following years, which was demolished by its owner in the first half of the 19th century. The abbey has been explored since the 1960s. In 1988 it came into the possession of the municipality of Beaucaire, in 1991 it became a monument historique , which enabled further restoration work.
The necropolis contains anthropomorphic rock tombs that were created between the 8th and 12th centuries, but only a part of which can be seen. Originally they covered the entire terrace and slopes of the hill. At the initiative of the owner, the necropolis was covered with earth in the late 19th century to plant trees, and much of the graves removed. The body shape of the carved graves, most of which are oriented west-east, form an impressive whole. They were dug into the rock because the arrangement made it possible to reserve more land for cultivation and not use coffins, saving the little wood available. In addition, it was important to concentrate burials as close as possible to the chapel.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ General information on the monastery website ( Memento from September 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
- Saint-Roman Abbey website in French
- Video clip of the system
- La nécropole de l'abbaye de Saint-Roman traverse les siècles… en peinture. In: Midi Libre . May 14, 2011(French).
Coordinates: 43 ° 50 ′ 7 ″ N , 4 ° 36 ′ 41 ″ E