In Bordeaux, what is hidden in the mysterious terracotta box at the Aquitaine Museum?

Anne Zieglé, curator of antique collections at the Aquitaine Museum in Bordeaux, recounts the adventures of a terracotta box of exceptional historicity.

"It's an exceptional object, an extremely early attestation of Christianity in Bordeaux," comments Anne Zieglé, curator of the antique collections at the Musée d'Aquitaine . "I think it dates from the ^4th century, contemporary with the first testimony in the world of a Christian pilgrimage, which is from Bordeaux: in 333, an anonymous person recorded in writing all of its stages between Bordeaux and Jerusalem."

The date is uncertain, and the nature of the object is difficult to establish. Was it a simple box or a reliquary intended to hold bones? This mysterious terracotta object, part of the Bordeaux museum's collections, is intriguing. "The decoration is reminiscent of that which appears on the numerous ossuaries from a slightly later period, found in the vicinity of Jerusalem," notes the curator. At that time, to isolate each individual in a vault, after a year, their bones were collected in a box. "When it's a small container like this, they are remains considered holy or precious."

A label mentions the 1909 excavations at Saint-Seurin (Bordeaux) by Paul Courteault and his team. During the archaeologist's absence, the site had been vandalized, and some pieces were missing. "Courteault, who kept a daily notebook of his research, makes no mention of this box. We can assume that someone else found it and stored it before it was stolen."

A century later, the casket reappeared a little further south. In 2006, a Toulouse heir called Anne Zieglé to ask her to appraise several antiques he had inherited from his mother. One of them was this terracotta, which he wanted to sell. Too expensive for the Musée d'Aquitaine, which didn't acquire it. A heartbreak for Anne Zieglé, who knew its importance. Almost twenty years later, a miracle: a second phone call from Toulouse. A collector called the curator. He had acquired the object and, given its historical significance, wanted to donate it to the museum. "This casket, which I thought I'd never see again, is the most beautiful gift before my retirement."

Aquitaine Museum, 20 Cours Pasteur, Bordeaux. Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Museum admission: €2 to €8. musee-aquitaine-bordeaux.fr