Grenoble No. 6 / Grenoblo

INFORMATION

FontID: 04997GRE
Museum and Inventory Number: MAG [Musée archéologique de Grenoble]
Church/Chapel: In the baptistry at the Musée de l'Ancien Évêché
Church Location: 2 Place Saint-Laurent, 38000 Grenoble, France
Country Name: France
Location: Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Directions to Site: Near the église Saint-Laurent, in the Musée de l'Ancien Évêché, across the river [N] from the cathedral of Notre-Dame
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocèse de Grenoble-Vienne
Historical Region: Dauphiné
Font Location in Church: In the baptistry in the semi-basement of the Musée de l'Ancien Évêché
Century and Period: 3rd - 10th century [altered?], Early Christian
On-site notes: what remains of the old baptistry is now included in the semi-basement of the Musée de l'Ancien Évêché: a fairly large octagonal sunken font with an inner pool and a water source right in the centre, together with one of the underground conduits which supplied water to the font. The outer perimeter is believed to correspond to the older font of the Early Christian period, whereas the inner pool has been date to the 10th century. What the whole building and the font itself could have looked like can be seen in the maquettes of the baptistry made for/by the museum [cf. Images]. [NB: we are most grateful to the director and staff of the Musée de l'Ancien Évêché for their permission to access and photograph the artifacts]

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 45.1977, 5.7314
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 45° 11′ 51.72″ N, 5° 43′ 53.04″ E
UTM: 31T 714534 5008542

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: mixed (brick & stone)
Font Shape: octagonal (sunken)
Basin Interior Shape: octagonal
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal
Drainage Notes: [cf. Font notes and Images for details]
Diameter (inside rim): 200 cm approx. (old basin) - 150 cm (new basin)
Basin Depth: 50 cm (new basin)
Notes on Measurements: BSI [NB: the centre drain block has a depth of 15-20 cm]

REFERENCES

Les premiers monuments chrétiens de la France, Paris: A. Picard ; Ministère ce la culture et de la francophonie, Direction du patrimoine, Sous-direction de l'archéologue, 1995-1998
Corblet, Jules, Histoire dogmatique, liturgique et archéologique du sacrement de baptême, Paris: V. Palme, 1881-1882