Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine (, literally ''Sainte-Colombe on
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
'') is a
commune in the
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124. department in eastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Population
Iron Age and Antiquity
Located not far from the site of the
Vix grave
The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.
...
, Sainte-Colombe is on a very rich archaeological territory. In the 19th century, several
Hallstatt
Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...
-era burial mounds containing wagon burials were excavated at the request of
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
. The first, located at a place called La Garenne, provided in 1846 a magnificent bronze
lebes
The lebes (, plural ''lebetes'') is a type of ancient Greek pottery, ancient Greek cauldron, normally in bronze. It is a deep bowl with a rounded bottom. It was often supported by a sacrificial tripod. In classical times, a foot was attached and i ...
of Etruscan origin, now displayed in the
Musée du Pays Châtillonnais
The Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, or Trésor de Vix, formerly called the musée archéologique de Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d'Or), was created in the late nineteenth century and is managed by the community of communes of the Pays Châtillonna ...
in
Châtillon-sur-Seine
Châtillon-sur-Seine () is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department, eastern France.
The Musée du Pays Châtillonnais is housed in old abbey of Notre-Dame de Châtillon, within the town, known for its collection of pre-Roman and Roman relics ...
. In another, at La Butte, gold bracelets and earrings were discovered in the grave of a woman laid to rest on an iron-clad funerary wagon. These gold items are now kept at the
National Archeological Museum in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...
.
In the middle of the twentieth century René Joffroy (1958) postulated that the elites buried under the tumulus of La Butte and La Garenne had
Mont Lassois as their place of residence. However geomagnetic surveys carried out in 2015 revealed the presence of several large buildings in the vicinity of the Sainte-Colombe burial mounds, suggesting that they may have also lived nearby.
File:Chatillon-sur-Seine - Musée du Pays chatillonnais - 07.jpg, Etruscan lebes
The lebes (, plural ''lebetes'') is a type of ancient Greek pottery, ancient Greek cauldron, normally in bronze. It is a deep bowl with a rounded bottom. It was often supported by a sacrificial tripod. In classical times, a foot was attached and i ...
cauldron
File:Sainte-Colombe-sur-Seine Bracelets.jpg, Gold bracelets, 6th century BC
File:Boucles d'oreilles St Colombe.jpg, Gold earrings, 6th century BC
The remains of several Gallo-Roman villas were discovered in 1851. Part of a mortuary column representing Venus and a sculpture of a draped woman discovered in 1867 are now kept in the Musée du pays Châtillonnais.
See also
*
Communes of the Côte-d'Or department
The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):[Vix Grave
The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.
...]
*
Lavau, Aube
External links
Musée du Pays Châtillonnais – Celtes et Gaulois
References
Communes of Côte-d'Or
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