Temple of Janus

The Temple of Janus is the best-known Roman ruin of Autun, a Burgundian town that began life in about 15 BC as Augustodunum, the city of Augustus, and became one of the main cities of Gaul. The temple stands in open fields just outside the old centre, to the west of the river Arroux, and it consists of two tall walls of a square tower. Even in its ruined state it rises to over twenty metres, which makes it one of the highest surviving fragments of Roman religious architecture in France, and it is visible from the road long before you reach it.

The name is a misnomer. In the Middle Ages the ruin was known as the Temple of Janus, but there is no evidence for this, and archaeologists have long concluded that the god honoured here is unknown. The building is not a Roman temple in the Mediterranean sense but a Romano-Celtic one, a type found across Gaul and Britain. It consisted of a square inner chamber, the cella, which held the statue of the god, surrounded by a covered gallery, the ambulatory, and the whole stood within a walled sanctuary. This form reflects the way local Gallic religion merged with Roman culture. The temple probably replaced an earlier wooden shrine to a Gallic deity, and it was built in the first century AD, when the town was being developed.

What survives are two sides of the cella, built with courses of small stones and bands of brick, and the foundations of the surrounding structures. Excavations in recent years have shown that the sanctuary was much larger than the visible remains suggest, with a wide enclosure around the temple. After the end of the Roman period the building was abandoned and its stone was taken for later buildings, including medieval defences. It was protected as a historic monument in the nineteenth century, and the ruins now stand in grass, which gives the site a quiet, open feeling.

Visiting is simple. The site is open air, so you can walk around the walls at any time, though there are no facilities, and it is best to wear sturdy shoes if the ground is wet. Information boards give the main points. A visit takes about twenty to thirty minutes, so it fits well into a day exploring the town.

Autun has plenty to see beyond the temple. The Porte Saint-André, a Roman gate, still stands, as does a large Roman theatre, and the Cathédrale Saint-Lazare, with its Romanesque sculpture, is among the great churches of Burgundy. The Musée Rolin holds Roman and medieval works, and the Église Saint-Nazaire and the Parc de la Combe à l'Orme are other quiet places to visit. The temple suits history lovers and anyone with an interest in Roman Gaul.