Carolingian Era Roman Spolia at the Medieval Church of Bourg-St-Pierre, Valais
Fig. 1 Bourg-St-Pierre with Churchyard in town center, 9th.c CE and later
Fig. 2 Map of Bourg-St-Pierre with Church (toward south end of town, marked by cross east-west)
Spoliation of Roman material is common wherever there is continuity between Roman and medieval communities, even when a considerable time has ensued between abandonment and reuse and/or when significant demographic change occurs. In the Grand St Bernard Pass region, the Parish Church of Bourg-St-Pierre and its vicinity in the alpine town of the same name (Figs 1-2) at around 1632 meters (5354 ft.) elevation in the Val d’Entremont of the Valais has many documented spolia on the route of the Grand-St-Bernard where the Roman route of Via Poenina (as seen in the Peutinger Map) was succeeded by the medieval route of Via Montis Jovis.(1) The Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project has been studying and reconstructing Roman life in the upper montane Grand-St-Bernard pass, especially above 1600 meters elevation since 1995; reuse of Roman material in the region is especially significant in the monastery Hospice du Grand-St-Bernard from the 11th c. onward. (2)
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