INTARANUM (Entrains) Dept. Nièvre, France.
The site is halfway between Cosne-sur-Loire and Clamecy-sur-Yonne. The ancient name is attested by a marble marker discovered at Autun, the capital of the Aedui. Roads radiated from Entrains to Auxerre, Autun, and Bourges through Mesves or Cosnes and to Orléans through St. Amand and Neuvy-sur-Loire. The city was built on an overhanging rock where the valleys of the Trélong and the Nohain meet, along the edge of which are two parallel fault lines. These valleys also bounded the cities of the Aedui, Biturigi, and Senoni, and constituted a border region that, in turn, came under the authority of Autun, Auxerre, then Nevers.Although no ancient monument has been preserved, the modern city bears traces of an amphitheater, some baths, and many temples. Inhabited since Gallic times but built up chiefly from the 2d c. onward, Entrains has yielded 120 carved stone fragments—more than the whole of the Nièvre territory combined. Colossal limestone statues of Apollo (2.65 m) and very probably of Jupiter, Mithraic bas-reliefs as well as a great many traces of indigenous cults testify to the religious fervor of the inhabitants, who also included in their pantheon the gods Borvo and Candidus, as is shown by a bronzeworkers' dedication. Still, Entrains was not just a city of temples; at the same time it was an active commercial and industrial center. Spanish amphorae have been found there, along with terra sigillate ware from S and central Galhia, Argonne pottery decorated with the pestle, gray crackleware from ha Villeneuve au Châtelot, and even ocellated ware that shows how Celtic decorative motifs still persisted in the 1st c. Also in the region were sculptors' and weavers' workshops; work in bronze and iron was also extremely important. Since 1965 excavations at the “chantier Chambault” have uncovered an insula belonging to ancient Intaranum. A blacksmith's forge, some vaults, a well, cesspools, and ancient roads have also been discovered. Stratigraphical studies and an examination of the objects found on the site make it possible to date the period of activity of this district between the 1st c. and the end of the 4th.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. Bollandus et al., Acta sanctorum quot toto orbe coluntur, 49 vols. in fol. (1643-1769): Passio Perigrini, 3; J. F. Baudiau, Histoire d'Entrains, with appendix by M. Héron de Villefosse on the antiquities of Entrains (1879); E. Thevenot, “Le culte des eaux et le culte solaire à Entrains,” Ogam, no. 31 (1954) 9-20; J.-B. Devauges, “Entrains gallo-romain,” doctoral dissertation, 3d cycle, Faculté des Lettres de Dijon (1970)MPI.J.-B. DEVAUGES