Roman Sites in France
Fréjus Roman Amphitheatre
Fréjus Roman Amphitheatre was built at the end of the 1st century AD. This structure, made of small tiles of local green sandstone, could accommodate up to 10,000 spectators. It most likely hosted gladiator fights and wild beast hunts. Today, this building comes to life every summer: large concerts, dancefloors and various performances form a rich and diverse program.
Founded: 0-100 AD |
Location:
Fréjus, France
Aqueduct of the Gier
The Aqueduct of the Gier is an ancient Roman aqueduct probably constructed in the 1st century AD to provide water for Lugdunum (Lyon), in what is now eastern France. It is the longest and best preserved of four Roman aqueducts that served the growing capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. It drew its water from the source of the Gier, a small tributary of the Rhone, on the slopes of Mont Pilat, 42 km sou ...
Founded: 1st century AD |
Location:
Chaponost, France
Roman Bridge
The Roman Bridge at Saint-Thibéry was segmental arch bridge on the Via Domitia in southern France. The structure is dated to the reign of emperor Augustus (30 BC – 14 AD). The ancient bridge had nine arches with spans of 10–12 m. The roadway rested on wide piers, which were protected on both sides by arched floodways and large cutwaters. The original length of the structure is estimated as 150 m, its ro ...
Founded: 30 BC to 14 AD |
Location:
Saint-Thibéry, France
Roman Pyramid
The Roman Pyramid in Vienne is an emblematic building of the architectural heritage of the city together with the Roman Theatre. It is an unique remain of a Roman circus, where racing took place. The pyramid was the central building of the Roman 'circus maximus'. The 25 meters high obelisk stood in the center of the sand track. Its location on an axial platform (Spina) was confirmed by excavations in the nineteenth an ...
Founded: 100-200 AD |
Location:
Vienne, France
Gennes Amphitheatre
Remains of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre date from the 2th century AD. The venue built for gladiator and huntings shows had originally seats for 5000 spectators.
Founded: 2nd century AD |
Location:
Gennes, France
Séviac Gallo-Roman Villa
Set on a hilltop surrounded by vineyards and cypresses, the Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac was a luxurious residence, spread over almost 6500m2. It is today one of the largest Gallo-Roman villas known in the south-west of France. The villa was built in the 2nd century AD and reconstructed in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Later in the 8th and 9th centuries the place was used for a church, burials and necropolis. The villa is ...
Founded: 2nd century AD |
Location:
Séviac, France
Lugdunum Convenarum
In 72 BCE the Roman General Pompey, while on the way back to Rome after a military campaign in Spain, founded a Roman colony in Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. The goal was to defend the passage to the Aran Valley and the Iberian peninsula. The colony was named Lugdunum Convenarum and had reached around 30,000 people at its highest point. It belonged to the Roman province of Novempopulana and had a growing Christi ...
Founded: 72 BCE |
Location:
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, France
Vieux-la-Romaine
During the 1st century AD, Aregenua (Vieux) became the capital of the Viducasse tribe. Situated at the crossroads of two Roman roads it became an important commercial staging town. Aregenua and Lillebonne are the only two capital towns in Gallo-Roman Normandy that did not become Medieval towns. A number of buildings have been excavated, and some have been partially reconstructed.
Founded: 0 - 200 AD |
Location:
Vieux, France
Alauna Roman Therms
There are imposing remains of the Roman therms of the ancient antique city of Alauna (today Valognes), built in the 1st century AD. The edifice was built in a symetric plan and had about ten rooms, including a steam room, a hot pool and a cold pool. The masonries were elevated at about a dozen metres and neatly built, associating small cubic stone block bases to brick layers.
Founded: 0 - 100 AD |
Location:
Valognes, France
Ambrussum
Ambrussum is a Roman archaeological site in Villetelle. Ambrussum is notable for its museum, staging post on the Via Domitia, bridge Pont Ambroix over the Vidourle and the oppidum (fortified village). Its history of settlement spanned 400 years. The whole site is still being excavated. A lower settlement prone to flooding was a staging post for travellers on the Via Domitia and provided stabling and accommodation and the ...
Founded: 300 BC |
Location:
Villetelle, France
Brion Gallo-Roman Theatre
Brion Gallo-Roman Theatre was had a capacity of 2500-3000 people. The fortified house was built to the foundations of theatre in the Middle Ages.
Founded: 1st-3rd century AD |
Location:
Saint-Germain-d'Esteuil, France
Plassac Gallo-Roman Villa
The Gallo-Roman villa of Plassac is an archaeological site classified as an historic monument with three villas built in the 1st, 2nd and 5th century. Discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, he saw his excavations begin only in the early 1960s alone. On site, it is possible to discover the ruins of the three successive villas, but also a museum explaining the details of the excavation campaign as well as the kno ...
Founded: 1st century AD |
Location:
Plassac, France
Aqueduct of Luynes
The Luynes aqueduct is a former Gallo-Roman bridge aqueduct located in Luynes, France. The remains show a stack of five arches and it is the most famous Roman monument in the Department of Indre-et-Loire, despite its modest dimensions. It is also one of the best preserved of the Northern aqueducts. It was classified a historical monument in 1862 and is owned by the town of Luynes. It originally had a total leng ...
Founded: 2nd century AD |
Location:
Luynes, France
Corseul Roman Ruins
Corseul was called Fanum Martis ('Temple of Mars') in Latin and was the capital of the Gallo-Roman province of Coriosolites. It was founded in 10 BC. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, like many other cities, Fanum Martis was renamed for its people, the Curiosolitae. This name change occurred as the Roman Empire weakened and paralleled a revival of the ancient Gallic gods in local religious sculptures and dedicatory ...
Founded: 10 BC |
Location:
Corseul, France
Gisacum
In the 2nd century AD, the city-sanctuary of Gisacum extended near Saint-Aubin, which was gradually abandoned until disappearing in 5th century. In the 1801 archaeological excavations uncovered this important Gallo-Roman site; but in reality at the time the town covered an area of 250 ha. The interpretation centre has a permanent exhibition tracing the history of Gisacum, and the archaeological garden offers an original d ...
Founded: 0 - 100 AD |
Location:
Le Vieil-Évreux, France
Lillebonne Roman Amphitheatre
Lillebonne is located on the north banks of the Seine River. From the first to the third centuries AD the town, then called Juliobona by the Romans – a homage to Julius Cesar, was a very prosperous port. The relatively well preserved Roman amphitheatre (capable of holding 3,000 persons) and baths are all that remains from these times. Many Roman and Gallic relics, notably a bronze statue of a woman and two fine mosaics, ...
Founded: 0 - 200 AD |
Location:
Lillebonne, France
Grand Roman Amphitheatre
The Gallo-Roman amphitheater in Grand, Vosges, was one of the largest amphitheaters in the Roman Empire with 17,000 seats. Located on the outskirts of the town, the amphitheater was built outside the ramparts of Grand in the 1st century AD. The builders of the day took advantage of the natural slopes of the valley when constructing this semi-elliptical theater. We were able to have a real sense of what the Grand Amphithea ...
Founded: 1st century AD |
Location:
Grand, France
Fréjus Roman Aqueduct
The aqueduct of Fréjus was built in the middle of the first century after the ramparts were in place. It functioned for 450 years until the 5th century. It is 42 km long, with a difference in altitude between the highest spring of Neïssoun and the castellum aquae in the city of 481 m. The aqueduct runs mostly in a covered conduit for 36.4 km and for 1.8 km on bridges and 500 m on walls. Large parts of the aqueduct are s ...
Founded: c. 50 AD |
Location:
Fréjus, France
Montcaret Gallo-Roman Villa
In Montcaret village are two sites of interest: the Roman style church and the archaeological site based around the excavations of a Roman villa. The two sites are adjacent in the heart of the village. The important villa in Montcaret was occupied from the 1st century to the 5th century. Although the main structure of the house has long since disappeared, you can still see the layout with the position of such rooms as th ...
Founded: 1st century AD |
Location:
Montcaret, France
Nemetacum
Arras was founded on the hill of Baudimont by the Celtic tribe of the Atrebates, who named it Nemetacum or Nemetocena in reference to a nemeton (sacred grove) that probably existed there. It was later renamed Atrebatum by the Romans, under whom it became an important garrison town. The archaeological site Nemetacum in Arras is one of the rare sanctuaries devoted to the oriental god Attis in France.
Founded: 15 BC |
Location:
Arras, France