Gallo-Roman statue of the god Priape

Monumental statues of Priape are rare, but Aureilhac's Priape is a Gallo-Roman statue, close to the one found in Ephesus and dated to the 2nd century AD.
Discovered during ploughing in 1970, it is on display in the town hall.
The Priape statue was discovered in 1970 during ploughing by the father of the generous donor, Mr. Gérard Mercier.
It remained inaccessible to the public for many years, when the idea of giving it a deserved place was born. The idea took shape at a meeting between the mayor and the owner, who was aware of the municipality's interest in protecting its heritage.
The statue was transferred to the village hall in 2007.
Careful attention was paid to its transport and temporary installation in the village hall.
From then on, we began the process of registering the statue with the Monuments Historiques de France, which was completed in 2008, at the same time as we embarked on a restoration project and began thinking about its final location, scheduled for 2009.
This little booklet is dedicated to helping you discover this historic monument in greater detail, and to warmly thanking the donor, Gérard Mercier, for his spirit of sharing, as well as Brigitte Chimier, PhilippeTiébot, Nicole Dortindeguey and the members of the Culture Commission for their deep commitment and the quality of their work on this project.
Monumental statues of Priape are relatively rare. The Aureilhac Priape is therefore an exceptional find, adding to the many archaeological remains in the commune to confirm the site's importance in Roman times.