Rock art is anything painted or engraved on rock. The term first brings prehistory to mind. Here, in a former underground quarry, it refers to large religious drawings traced in black on the pillars and walls, accompanied by inscriptions in Latin. No one knows who drew them, or when.
The scenes and the inscriptions
Several scenes can be recognised by their iconography. On one pillar, Christ stands between two old men, one of whom holds the tablets of the Law: this is the Transfiguration, in which Christ appears between Moses and Elijah. Further on, an Annunciation shows the angel facing the seated Virgin, above the caption “Ecce ancilla Domini”, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord”, Mary’s reply to the angel in the Gospel of Luke.
Other inscriptions take up phrases from the Gospel: “Gloria in excelsis Deo”, the song of the angels at the Nativity, or “Mane nobiscum Domine”, “Stay with us, Lord”, the prayer of the disciples at Emmaus, written in a spiral around a column. There is also a crucifix, the portrait of a priest with a halo, a coat of arms surmounted by a tiara and a bell drawn around a niche.
One panel combines two crossed flags, the words “In memoriam” and “pro patria”, a list of names and the word “Adieu”. Signatures and graffiti cover the parts left bare.
This tour is part of the catalogue of virtual tours of underground heritage.
