Tumulus du Trou de Billemont - Antoing, Belgium
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GT.US
N 50° 34.248 E 003° 27.690
31U E 532681 N 5602199
The Tumulus du Trou de Billemont is an old Roman burial site.
Waymark Code: WM8MYD
Location: Hainaut, Belgium
Date Posted: 04/21/2010
Views: 15
The sign on site reads in the English portion:
"Who were they? "Procurators" looking after the first quaries of the reqion at the turn of the first century? Roman Notables? They were undoubtedly persons of high rank, to deserve these funeral sites. For centuries, graves were forgotten, crushed, sometimes looted. Above the vaults at the spot known as "Troe De Billemont", the tumulus was reconstructed such as one could imagine it around the year 150 of our era. This monument is the most western of all the great Tumuli in Belgium and the only one to have all together the stone crown, the aisle, the vault with niches and a vast outside enclosure. Merovingian graves brought to light in 1911 and 1914 in the spot known as the "Gueronde" are also reconstituted on this site. Coming from a big churchyard, these three graves are dated about the end of the 6th century, early 7th century".
The Belgian wikipedia entry at (
visit link) tells us:
"Au-dessus des caveaux découverts au lieu-dit Trou de Billemont, on a reconstitué le tumulus tel qu'on pouvait l'imaginer vers l'an 150 de notre ère. Ce monument est le plus occidental de tous les grands tumuli en Belgique et le seul à posséder à la fois la couronne de pierres, le couloir, le caveau à niches et un vaste enclos extérieur. Le couloir en forme de T est accessible et mène à une série de niches dans lesquelles étaient disposées les urnes contenant les cendres du défunt.
Des tombes mérovingiennes mises au jour en 1911 et 1914 au lieu-dit de Guéronde sont également reconstituées sur le site. Provenant d'une vaste nécropole, ces trois sépultures sont datées de la fin du VIe siècle, début du VIIe siècle."
Additional pre-reconstruction photos are available at (
visit link)