Venasque No. 2 / Vénasque

Corblet's source, l'abbé Pougnet, describes the basin in the Baptistery of Vénasque as an ancient octagonal "piscine", which he dates to the 6th century A.D., measuring 1.8 m. in diameter and 30 cm in depth; the bottom is covered in concrete [cf. other such French basins in Nantes, Lyon, etc.] and rests directly on the rock ground. Pougnet also reported that the excavations carried out [ca. 1868?] had unearthed the water intake and drainage conduits. Enlart (1902), however, dates the font to the 11th cent.] An illustration in Chastel (1966, p. [7]) shows a barrel-like container in the middle of the baptistry: "sans support, selon le modele antique [... ] prennent parfois l'aspect d'un cuvier". (ibid., p. 287). On-site notes: the piscina is rather shallow witt a large conduit feeding into its centre, all clearly visible now (June 2001) under a plate of glass. There are two parallel outlets on the baptistery wall [cf. Images area] believed to serve a purpose related to the baptismal funtion of the building. There are two other objects, one of which, is a barrel-shaped font similar to the one found in Frejus.