Piliers de Tutelle

The Pillars of Guardianship were a Gallo-Roman monument in the Severian style made up of twent-four Corinthian-style columns arranged in a rectangle. The plan and overall appearance of the structure, which is no longer preserved, has been handed down thanks to a drawing by architect Claude Perrault (1613-1688). On top of the capitals of the columns laid an architrave, and on top of it were 44 pillars with bas reliefs of caryatids (female figures supporting a construction), one above each column and three meters in height in total. Above each female figure was a vase-shaped relief, and even higher than those were the transoms of large arches. Above those arches ran a second architrave, similar to the first one. The pillars with the reliefs were bilateral, meaning that the interior of the Piliers de Tutelle sported the same caryatids, vases and arches. == History ==

The Piliers de Tutelle were built around the late second or early third century under the Severan dynasty which brought the region a period of prosperity from which Bordeaux greatly benefited. especially since it was located on the highest point of the city, overlooking the river and its port. In the middle of the 9th century, the Arab geographer Al-Himyarī described this monument for the first time, writing that "north of Bordeaux is a building that can be seen from afar and which rests on tall, thick columns: this was the palace of Titus". The building, already in a very poor condition, was finally razed to the ground in February 1677 by Vauban on the orders of Louis XIV who wished, after the troubles of the Fronde and the bloody revolt of the populace, to clear the glacis of the Trompette Castle in order to facilitate the firing of cannons at the rebellious city. Las Incantadas was too demolished in 1864, when Frenchman Emmanuel Miller brought it down in order to transfer its pillars with the sculptures to France. They still remain in the Louvre to this day. The Piliers de Tutelle was also compared to the so-called "Portico of the Giants" from the Odeon of Agrippa in the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Place de la Comédie sits now on the spot the Pillars once stood. They were located at the western end of the Grand Théâtre terrace, facing rue Mautrec. All that remains now are old engravings and a street that bears their name. == References ==