| Pillar of Yzeures-sur-Creuse | |
|---|---|
 Leda, the swan, Castor and Pollux (level 3) | |
| Type | Column |
| Material | Shelly limestone |
| Period/culture | Early 3rd century |
| Discovered | 1895 Yzeures-sur-Creuse |
| Place | Minerva Museum |
| Coordinates | 46°47′10″N 0°52′14″E / 46.78611°N 0.87056°E |
| Registration | Listed as a MH (1896) |
| Culture | Gallo-Roman |
The pillar of Yzeures-sur-Creuse is an ancient monumental column constructed from Jurassic limestone with shell inclusions. Some remnants were discovered in and near the foundations of the former church of the French commune of Yzeures-sur-Creuse, in Indre-et-Loire in 1895.
The reconstruction of the parish church of Notre Dame, which started in 1895, led to the discovery of numerous ancient stone blocks and some Merovingian sarcophagi in the foundation trenches. Among the nearly one hundred blocks unearthed during the initial works (1895) and subsequent excavations (1896), twenty-one were identified as undoubtedly belonging to a monumental pillar. The blocks are organized into three levels of bas-relief sculptures representing Roman deities and Greek heroes, likely topped by a now-lost statue. The recovered elements suggest a monument about nine meters high, probably built in the early 3rd century in honor of the emperor through allegorical representations. The pillar is likely part of a complex of monuments and cult buildings that also includes at least one temple, possibly dedicated to Minerva, as evidenced by a epigraphy, and an altar, all belonging to a still unidentified secondary settlement. The site's religious function continued into the Early Middle Ages with the construction of a Merovingian church that reused elements of the ancient monuments in its foundations.
The preserved blocks of Yzeures-sur-Creuse, which were listed as protected objects in 1896 and integrated into the Palissy base in 1992, have been on display since 1972 at the Minerva Museum, which is situated in the same commune as the excavation site where the blocks were discovered. In 1972, the pillar-related artifacts were subjected to a comprehensive examination; in 2014, they were integrated into a broader investigation of all the lapidary remains of Yzeures-sur-Creuse.