As a small-town settlement, the Roman vicus Belginum was the central place of the district (pagus). At the western end of the vicus, there were several cult sites. Here, meetings of the vicus self-administration took place, and the gods were worshipped.
In each of the cult areas, there was a Gallo-Roman temple, a building type that only occurred in the formerly Celtic regions of Gaul. A low covered ambulatory for processions surrounded the higher located cella, which housed the cult image.
Excavations in the 43 x 44 m large cella of the temple in Area 2 revealed a pit and a quartzite block next to two post holes in an older layer below the Roman level. In trenches outside the temple, ceramic shards from the 3rd/2nd century BC were found, among other things. Further quartzite blocks, which were documented in more detail in Area 3, may have belonged to a circular structure with a diameter of 20 m. Ceramic and bone finds from domestic animals testify to animal sacrifices and the associated religious feasts that took place during meetings.
The temple replaced older structures in the first half of the 1st century BC. Thus, parallel to the settlement of the vicus and the use of the cemetery, there was also a long tradition and continuity in this section over six centuries from the 3rd century BC.
The Gallo-Roman Ambulatory Temple in ARGO – Experience the Past Anew
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The Gallo-Roman ambulatory temple, a unique building type in the formerly Celtic areas, served among other things for the worship of the gods. It consisted of a cella with the cult image and a covered ambulatory that served as a processional way.
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