An ancient Roman temple, discovered in the chancel of the church of Sant Feliu Girona

Barcelona Reporter ^ | February 2010 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

An ancient Roman temple, discovered following the first excavations in the chancel of the church of Sant Feliu Girona.

The temple, with cross-shaped plan, apse, three naves and two side chapels, and several tombs from the sixth and seventh centuries, have appeared.

This intervention is part of the European project "Sopra e sotto. Euopea La Città", the culture program involving the City of Brindisi (Italy) as main organizer, with participation as members of L'Ecole Nationale Superiore d ' Architetture of Toulouse (France), the University and the city of Girona.

The work that has lasted three weeks have also brought to light several tombs and a Roman Christian who, according to experts, could belong to some bishops or individuals from that epoch. Professor Josep Maria Nolla, archaeologist and head of the excavations, said human remains have not been found, suggesting that the bodies were moved elsewhere.

"A number of graves, fairly well preserved, were discovered but not a single human fragment". The expert stressed that they found wood and nails, so someone had been buried in a coffin, but when they dismantled the old church to build the new, it seems they picked up all these skeletal remains and bury them elsewhere".

The European project has benefited Girona as it focuses on finding solutions to some of the problems faced by medium sized cities in finding their past history and town planning where the exploitation of archaeological sites of interest are in the midst of urban fabric.

[SunkenCiv]

subtitle: "The work that has lasted three weeks have also brought to light several tombs and a Roman Christian who, according to experts, could belong to some bishops or individuals from that epoch".

[SunkenCiv]

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[Trajan88]

Trajan88 gives this thread a thumb's up :-)

[NYer]

The temple, with cross-shaped plan, apse, three naves and two side chapels, and several tombs from the sixth and seventh centuries, have appeared.

It would seem doubtful that a pagan temple would be in the form of a cross.

This 14th- to 17th-century church was built over what may have been the tomb of Feliu of Africa, martyred during Diocletian's persecution at the beginning of the 4th century. St Felix was apparently a 4th-century bishop of Girona. Important in the architectural history of Catalonia, the church styles of both Romanesque and Gothic. The main facade of the church is Baroque. The bell tower--has eight pinnacles and one central tower, each supported on a solid octagonal base. The spire was struck by lightning and broke in 1581 and never replaced. The interior contains a 16th-century altarpiece and a 14th-century alabaster Reclining Christo. There are pagan and Christian sarcophagi set in the walls.

[TASMANIANRED]

It may have been ancient and it may have been Roman but unlikely it was pagan.

[colorado tanker]

I agree. My understanding is that cruciform basilicas were a Christian invention. I’m not aware of any pagan Roman cruciform basilica, whether used for religous or secular purposes.