The legend

In Vienne, near the Rhône river, there is an almost entirely intact Roman monument known colloquially as l’Aiguille ‘The Needle’.
It has been standing there for nearly two thousand years.
For centuries, it was said to have been the last resting place
of Pontius Pilate, and stones were pulled up in an attempt
to find the tomb… in vain; the plinth was solid.

Now, however, its true history is known; Rome, Arles and
Vienne each had a great circus half a kilometre long,
with a spina rising from its centre to enable the location to be identified in misty conditions. And so it was,
in the late nineteenth century, that the Guieu family opened
a restaurant and catering business near the ‘Pyramid’ in Vienne.