Old La Romaine
Old-la-Romaine is an archaeological site Gallo-Roman of Calvados , some fifteen miles south of Caen. It is in the present village of Old. Excavated since the days of Louis XIV , the ancient city was prosperous under the Roman Empire. Chief town of the city of Viducasses , Aregenua (the name meant in Gallic "above the mouth", ie the Guigne Creek which flows into the Orne ) had the monuments and buildings that identify a Gallo-Roman capital of civitas.
Summary |
History
Created in the first century AD, is the capital of Aregenua Viducasses , one of the peoples of Gaul Lyon. The city appears as a stage town on the map Peutinger. Its golden age is the Second and Third Centuries. As is known from an inscription ( marble Thorigny ) that the city had a privileged status in terms of tax and that the magistrates were entitled to Roman citizens.
Very touched by the first barbarian invasions in the late third century , Aregenua does not mean surrounded by an enclosure. At the time of Christianization, it does not become a bishopric seat unlike most other cities of the future Normandy. These are all signs that advertise or cause a decline in capital Viducasses. Aregenua is not abandoned in the Late Empire : archaeologists have found new home construction, restorations and have found coins and products Crafts, indices of maintaining a long-distance trade. However, it is clear that the city of Augustodurum ( Bayeux ), defended by a castrum , takes precedence over Aregenua.
The High Middle Ages , people settle a little further north (Hamlet St. Martin) and use the Gallo-Roman ruins as a quarry to build their homes (eg home Gaudin). Aregenua is more than Simple vicus. This is the only capital city of Normandy , with Lillebonne which has not become a city medieval.
Archaeological Reconstruction of the city
Archaeological excavations have sketched a picture of Aregenua more easily that no modern city has covered the Gallo-Romans. This type of condition is quite exceptional for a former capital city (if Jublains too). The first discovery, marble Thorigny , dates back to 1580. The first excavations at the site began in 1697, 45 years before those of Pompeii.
Aregenua is at a crossroads of ancient roads. The lines of communication spun toward the Cotentin , to the country of the Loire , to Lisieux and to Rouen. Some of his tracks were the cardo and decumanus of the city. They were not as human being is usually imagined.
Archaeologists have identified several monumental buildings:
- an aqueduct
- a Roman theater , with an average size (80 meters in diameter), apparently transformed amphitheater in the second century
- of Roman baths public. We know its two founders, two notables of the city and his son Titus Solemninus Sennius Sollemnis
- a shrine where an altar was found to Venus and March. This temple is under the current Notre Dame. It is a rather rare case of continuity between a place of pagan worship and a place of Christian worship.
- a domus exceptional decor. Called "the great peristyle house," she was excavated in 1988-1991 by P. Vipard. His plan that extends over 1250-1500m is organized around a central courtyard decorated with a basin (catchment area) and surrounded by a peristyle. A hypocaust assured heating several rooms. The ceremonial room, courtyard and garden were decorated (fresco of Achilles and Tethys , Bacchic sculptures, columns carved with plant motifs, pillars decorated with bas-reliefs, mosaics ...). The domus also retains some of its original limestone pavement. This is a typical Mediterranean which proves the assimilation of Roman architecture by the Gauls in the north.
- a civil basilica and a building housing the curia , currently being excavated
A craft was spotted near the southwest: a workshop bronze sculptor and glass furnaces have been released.
A museum on the site shows the discoveries while the great peristyle house (or rather its remains recovered) is freely accessible.
From plans drawn up by the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy , recent aerial and geophysical surveys have confirmed, at a place called "the field ridges, the presence of the forum of the city and various public buildings, baths, but also curia and probably civil basilica. A new excavation campaign started in 2007, which should continue in the coming years to identify those public buildings still poorly known for the city of Aregenua.
All the archaeological remains found in the Lower Old enrolled in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments (ISMH, 27/06/1988). The ruins of the Gallo-Roman theater in turn have two types of protection: the remains contained in a place called the Garden are classified Poulain (CLMH, 04/21/1980), while those found at the locality of the school are enrolled only (ISMH, 06/02/1980) References
Related articles
External Links
Bibliography
- Gallia Journal, Volume 47, 1990, p.251-255
- Proceedings of the XXXVI Congress of historical societies and archaeological Normandy, Caen, 1992, p.69-78.
- Pascal Vipard, "A domus of the spa district of Aregenua (Vieux, Calvados). Contribution to the history of urban housing in Roman Gaul," Ph.D. thesis, eds. of Francis Hinard , University Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), 1996.
- Pascal Vipard, Home of "Bottom of Old": a rich residential neighborhood of Roman baths of Aregenua (Vieux, Calvados), Caen, Calvados General Council, 1998.
- Pascal Vipard, "The role of decoration in the official parties of a peristyle domus of the early third century: the case of the Grand Peristyle House (Old Calvados)", Revue du Nord, Volume 83, No. 343, Villeneuve d'Ascq, 2001 21-33.
- Elizabeth Denial, "the conquest and integration into the Roman Empire" in Elizabeth Deniaux Claude Lorren, Pierre Bauduin Thomas Jarry, Normandy before the Normans, Rennes, Ouest-France, 2002.
- Pascal Vipard, The City of Aregenua (Vieux, Calvados), chief town of the "Viducasses" state of knowledge, Paris, Exe Productions, 2002.
Aginnum | Alba Helviorum | Albig | Alesia | Andemantunnum | Andesine | Anicium | Apta Julia | Aquae Sextiae | Aquae Tarbellicae | Arausio | Aregenua | Arelate | Argentomagus | Augusta Viromanduorum | Augustodunum | Augustonemetum | Augustoritum | Autricum | Avaricum | Avenio | Bibracte  | Brigantio | Burdigala | Caesarodunum | Cassinomagus | Cemenelum | Cenabum | Condate | Condatomagus | Cularo | Darioritum | Divodurum Medimatricorum | Divona | Durocassium | Durocortorum | Epomanduodurum | Fanum Martis | Forum Julii | Gergovia | Gisacum | Glanum | Juliomagus | Lattara | Lugdunum  | Lutetia | Massalia | Nasium | Nemausus | Noviodunum (Jublains) | Novioregum | Rotomagus | Saint-Romain-en-Gal | Samarobriva | Vasio | Vindunum | |
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