Robert M Chapple, Archaeologist

< Back to Table ofContents I don’t really have much to say about this collection of 12th century sandstone capitals other than to note that they are absolutely gorgeous. They were originally from several different Romanesque features of the church, before being disassembled and reused elsewhere. They have been found during various conservation works and during the course of the excavations here. I just adore their variety and freshness – even after the best part of 900 years – and the thought that if they bring a smile to my face now, they probably did exactly the same for those who saw them when they were first carved.

< Back to Table of Contents I have long adored this pair of Romanesque capitals and they form a personal highlight of every visit to this museum. They are carved from a local sandstone known as molasse, and date to the 11th century. They come from a church, now destroyed, in Bocsozel, a small town about 40km to the north-west of Grenoble. As capitals, they would have sat on top of pilasters or columns of some description within the church. The museum's information card doesn't comment as to whether or not there were further carved capitals in the  Bocsozel church. If these were the only two, it's likely they were part of a chancel arch and, thus, in full view of the congregation. One capital is interpreted by the museum as Daniel in the Lion’s Den. Daniel was a Hebrew during the period of the Babylonian Captivity and was sentenced to Death by Lion (Pantheracide? … though that would be the other way around …). Surprisingly, he didn’t get mauled and eaten and...