Étude archéométallurgique du dépôt de grands bronzes du sanctuaire gallo-romain du Vieil-Evreux (Eure)

Résumé Fr En

Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude archéométallurgique réalisée sur un important dépôt de bronze découvert en 1840 sur le site du sanctuaire gallo-romain du Vieil-Evreux. De récentes découvertes de fragments au sein du sanctuaire, ainsi qu’une relecture des données d’archives, ont amené à redéfinir la nature et le contexte de ce dépôt.

This article reports the results of an archeometallurgical study carried out on an important bronze hoard discovered in 1840 on the gallo-roman sanctuary of Vieil-Evreux. Recent excavations provided other fragments, and a study of the archive data, led to redefine the nature and context of this hoard. The work was conducted by the C2RMF, in collaboration with the CEA Le Ripault and the MADE, and the analytical procedure involved the use of multiple techniques such as radiography, tomography, endoscopy, or the determination of elemental composition by ICP-AES of the various pieces of bronze. Two main results were obtained so far. The first is directly related to the understanding of the Vieil-Evreux site by determining the minimal number of statues in the bronze hoard and more accurate the identification of their iconography. The second, more general, is to integrate and compare the data in the research program concerning the study of the manufacturing techniques of the Greek and Roman large bronze statues (including the study of the lost wax process and the welding process).