Church of Saint-Geniès of Bachos

Bachos
Church of Saint-Geniès 

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Although it dates from the 12th Century, the church of Bachos was built with un-matching rubble-stone, in the manner of 11th Century Comminges churches.
The apse is rectangular with no windows, unlike those in the majority of Romanesque churches in the region.
A fine Gallo-Roman carving of the head of Medusa is set in the wall, no doubt from the cover of a cinerary vessel, a burial urn from an ancient necropolis. Medusa was a mythological creature with hair in the from of snakes.bachos-2006-12-13-re-2-201x300

That is should figure so cleary on the façade tells us something of the slow evolution of the people of the Comminges, profundly affecd by the centuries of Gallo-Roman culture before Christianity took hold.

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The chrismon on the lintel of the door is unusual for having been carved in local Pyrenean cherry marble, whereas white marble was usually used for this purpose.