Meysse

INFORMATION

Font ID: 10448MEY
Object Type: Baptismal Font3
Font Century and Period/Style: 5th - 6th century, Early Christian
Church / Chapel Name: Early Christian baptistery in the ancienne eglise Saint-Jean Baptiste de Meysse
Font Location in Church: In the old church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. John the Baptist
Church Notes: "Des fouilles archéologiques ont mis au jour dans l'abside les fondations d'un baptistère à immersion de l'époque mérovingienne" -- the medieval church is listed in Mérimée [ref.: PA00116732]: "10e siècle ; 2e moitié 12e siècle ; 17e siècle"
Church Address: 2 Rue de la Vieille Église, 07400 Meysse, France
Site Location: Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe
Directions to Site: Located off the D2-D86 crossroads, 7-8 km N of Montélimar, 35-40 km S of Valence
Font Notes:
Early Christian baptistery in the medieval parish church; the baptismal font is octagonal inside and out. According to Reynaud (1989), there was a pre-Caronlingian baptistery that was destroyed by a fire in the 14th century. The font of the baptistery is illustrated in a digital photograph taken 17 September 2016 by Celeda, posted in Wikimedia [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cuve_baptismale_au_centre_de_l'église_de_St_Jean-Baptiste.jpg] [accessed 17 August 2025]

COORDINATES

UTM: 31T 636574 4941046
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 44.609792, 4.72119
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 44° 36′ 35.25″ N, 4° 43′ 16.28″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: sunken font, octagonal
Basin Interior Shape: octagonal
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal

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, vol. 1: p. 211-212
  • Reynaud, Jean-François, "Le baptistère de Meysse et la christianisation des campagnes dans la moyenne vallée du Rhône", 1989, Bulletin de la Société nationale des antiquaires de France, 1989, pp. 103-118; p. 103-118