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 Amphitheater looked like originally as the seating has been constructed over one-half of the original stone supports. The seating has been built to the original dimensions and height so that you have a real sn understanding of the size of the amphitheater.
The amphitheater was built in the was abandoned in the 4th century with the rise of Christianity. The inhabitants of Grand then used the amphitheater as a quarry and for years to come they removed many of the structure’s stones to use for other purposes.
There was also an important sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Grannus, the god of healing. You can still see the remains of the rampart that surrounded the sacred enclosure.
La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a \'mound\' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains of at least eight individuals. Gravegoods, mostly pottery, were also present. At some time in the past, the site had evidently been entered and ransacked.
In Western Europe, it is one of the largest and best preserved passage graves and the most impressive and best preserved monument of Armorican Passage Grave group. Although they are termed \'passage graves\', they were ceremonial sites, whose function was more similar to churches or cathedrals, where burials were incidental.