Temple de Cybèle, Lyon
Massive Roman masonry ruins once mistaken for a goddess's shrine, now read as a wealthy governor's residence.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Temple de Cybele in Lyon follows a naming mistake nearly a century old: a 1704 altar to the goddess Cybele found nearby led 1925 archaeologists to declare the massive ruins beside it her temple. It traces later excavations that turned up brick-vaulted alcoves and a thick masonry core never meant as shrine rooms, and the dating work that put the structure roughly one hundred fifty years before that altar was carved. Look closely at the rows of alcoves, three on one side and five on the other, opening onto a narrow corridor.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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