Olcoz - San Miguel

Saint Miguel is tightly connected to Saint Mary of Eunate (8 kms west) and it is as enigmatic. There are many theories centered around these two churches.

The portal of San Miguel is very similar to the portal of Saint Mary of Eunate, but mirror inverted. Here is a part of the portal´s left side, note the strange creatures populating the outer archivolt.

The information given in Olcoz prefers the theory that the carvings should be seen as a calender. I doubt that actually. Here is a detail from the archivolt: a long snake feeds from a cup, held by a very skinny person.


Ray ("Adfinem") has done a very interesting comparative study between the carvings around this portal and the carvings of a portal in Biron (Saintonge, 400kms north). While in medieval times Olcoz and Eunate were places on the "Camino Aragonés", Biron was close to the "Via Turonensis" in Western France.

Here is the Ray´s study
www.flickr.com/photos/adfinem/7273068968/in/set-721576300...