Civray-sur-Cher No. 1 / Civray-de-Touraine

INFORMATION

FontID: 03595CIV
Object Type: Baptistery
Church/Chapel: Baptistery [disappeared]
Church Location: 37150 Civray-de-Touraine, Indre-et-Loire, France
Country Name: France
Location: Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
Directions to Site: Located in the canton of Bléré, arrondissement of Tours
Font Location in Church: The baptistery was located in front of the Merovingian church, according to Davies (1962: 4)
Century and Period: 6th century, Gallo-Roman
Font Notes:
Described in Chevalier (1860: 217-225). A few years later Corblet (1881-1882, v. 2: 60-61) relates the discovery of the abbé Chevalier, a "piscine baptismale en terre cuite" [cf. font record Civray-sur-Cher No. 2]. The location where the font was found was, according to Chevalier, a baptistery with a square plant 3.75 m. long; the ground paving was of of a hard concrete 10 cm. thick, and the font was situated in the northern side of the vestibule, buried to the rim in the ground so that the catechumens could walk down into it. Another text in Bourassé-Chevalier (1869: 43), Corblet's reference, refers to the concrete which surrounds the baptismal font: "A Civray-sur-Cher, nous avons trouvé cet antique béton, encore en place sur un lit de chaux, autour de la piscine baptismale".

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: unknown

REFERENCES

Bourassé, J-J, abbé, Recherches historiques et archéologiques sur les églises romaines en Touraine du VIe au XI siècle, Tours: Imprimerie Ladevèze, 1869
Chevalier, C., "Piscine baptismale à immersion du VIe siècle à Civray-sur-Cher", XIII (1860), Mémoires de la Société Archéologique de Touraine, 1860, pp. 217-225; p. 217-225
Corblet, Jules, Histoire dogmatique, liturgique et archéologique du sacrement de baptême, Paris: V. Palme, 1881-1882
Davies, J.G., The Architectural Setting of Baptism, London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962