Gaul Systems

From Bronze Age networks and Celtic sanctuaries to Roman cities and Christian pilgrimages, a new reading of Gaul's sacred territorial geography.

Across Gaul, this book explores how rivers, mountains, forests, sanctuaries and cities were organized through centers, axes, orientations and circulation networks. From the Rhine and Jura to the Seine, Loire, Atlantic coast and Rhône corridor, twelve proposed zodiacal sectors reveal distinct territorial functions: frontier zones, sacred axes, maritime gateways and productive valleys. Taking Mediolanum / Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire as a possible central point, Jean-Marc Bélot investigates successive layers of territorial organization through Celtic oppida, Roman roads, medieval monasteries and pilgrimage traditions. Drawing on geography, archaeology, historical sources and regional mythology, he revisits Jean Richer's work on sacred geography, distinguishing observable spatial continuities from exploratory hypotheses about ancient territorial symbolism.

An exploration of Gaul through the structures connecting landscapes, sacred centers, zodiacal orientations and successive civilizations.