1,500-Year-Old Cathedral and Baptistery Unearthed Beneath Marketplace

In Vence, a historic town just west of Nice in southeastern France, archaeologists have uncovered one of the most significant early Christian discoveries in decades

Beneath the covered marketplace, workers renovating the site revealed the remains of a 5th-century cathedral and a remarkably preserved baptistery, hidden for more than 1,500 years.

The excavation, led by teams from the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) and the Nice metropolitan archaeological service, uncovered a complex stretching nearly 30 meters and spanning more than six centuries of Christian history.

Remarkably Preserved Bapistry and Burials

The centerpiece of the find is the baptistery, located outside the cathedral, which still retains its original baptismal font. Shaped octagonally on the outside and cross-shaped within, the font was lined with béton de tuileau, a Roman concrete made from crushed tiles. Unlike most ancient baptismal structures, this one survived without later modifications, providing rare insight into early Christian practices when adult baptism by immersion was the norm.