Glanum - Sacred Spring

Glanum: Roman village in southern France, modern St.Rémy-de-Provence.

Glanum, sacred pool
Glanum, sacred pool

The first inhabitants of Glanum appear to have settled over there in the seventh or sixth century BCE. Pottery and coins, thrown as offerings into the a hole above a spring, suggest that this settlement was religious in nature.

A very ancient staircase linked a rupestrian shrine to the sacred spring, which was fed by a reservoir gallery. The sanctuary itself, a small Corinthian temple, was in Roman times dedicated to Valetudo, the Roman goddess of health.