Hello! I’m Nicole Bedford, and welcome to my web page of Gallo-Roman ruins. After returning from the Ancient Studies trip to Southern France and Paris I would like to share with you some of the amazing Roman remains left on the landscape in Southern France. First, I will start with a brief history, and as we journey through some ancient Roman cities I‘ll fill in the details! So sit back and enjoy the tour!

History of Roman Gaul

Southern France was made into a provincia (province) by the Romans in 125-121 B.C. Under Julius Caesar the rest of Gaul was brought under Roman control through the Gallic Wars (58-51 B.C.). After almost all of Gaul had been conquered, Vercingetorix, a great Celtic chieftain, stirred up the remaining tribes of Gaul and united them. This was Caesar’s greatest challenge in Gaul. Vercingetorix, like all of Caesar's opponents, was in due time crushed, bringing all of Gaul under the control of Rome. Roman civilization flourished in Gaul, whose culture was not as advanced. The Romans organized cities into orderly grids, establishing public works, cultural institutions and entertainment, basically redefining the un-advanced culture of Gaul. After a couple of centuries of Roman glory, barbarian raids from Germany eventually led to the downfall in Gaul of the Roman Empire.

Getting started- the Beauty of France

Mark Twain said it best, in his book The Innocents Abroad, “What a bewitching land… What a garden! All is orderly and beautiful – everything is charming to the eye.” After riding through the French countryside I wholeheartedly agree. We had short drives between ancient roman cities and the drive through the country side let us appreciate the truly beautiful landscape. It’s no wonder that the Roman soldiers preferred to retire here.

What did we see- Bring on the Sites!

Arles became a great Roman City after it wisely chose correctly to side with Julius Caesar in his war against Pompey in 49 B.C. Massilia (present-day Marseilles) sided with Pompey and land was ceded to Arles. Three years later in 46 B.C Caesar sent the veterans of the 6^th Legion to Arles and the city become a colony with Roman rights. It was called the “Little Rome of Gaul” because it had everything that the Romans became familiar with at home in Rome. It was during the reigns of Augustus, Antoninus and Constantine the Great that the monuments surviving today were built. There is very little that remains of the Roman theater in Arles. Two ornate columns of the stage wall called the “two widows” portray its former richness. This theater once sat 12,000 but for hundreds of years it was used as a quarry for building materials by barbarians, locals and the church and cloister next to it.

The oval arena has three tiers for spectators and can seat 20,000. It is still used today for bullfights and shows. This outer passageway encircles the entire arena and allows spectators to enter their seats.

Nîmes became a Roman colony in about 50 B.C, but it was Augustus who influenced its greatness by making it the capital of the Narbonne province. Augustus built the ramparts that surrounded the town of which only two gates still remain. The city works were built for the veteran legions that defeated Antony and Cleopatra and were settled here. The Roman historian Livy said that “Nîmes is more like Italy than Italy”. The arena of Nîmes is a twin to the one in Arles; the only difference is that Nîmes’ is slightly better preserved. Many of the great structures from Roman times were used during the middle ages as protective fortresses. Houses were built inside the structures and between the arches. During periods of excessive heat a canopy (velum) was stretched over the seats for the comfort of the spectators. The attic or uppermost level has the holes where the masts for the canopy would have been. The attic is partially preserved in Nîmes but none of Arles' remains. The passageways of the arena were specially arranged so that the circulation in the surrounding corriders only led to certain levels in the arena. This was to prevent intermingling of the different classes of people at the shows.

An exquisitely preserved Roman temple, one of the best in the world, is the Maison Carrée (Square House), located in the forum of ancient Nîmes. The temple was dedicated to Augustus’ adopted grandsons, Caius and Lucius Caesar and was modeled after the Temple of Apollo near Rome. The temple has fluted Corinthian columns and a sculpted frieze; the pediment was left empty.

The Pont du Gard is an aqueduct built to supply water to the city of Nîmes. The 31-mile route started from the springs at Uzès and at its end provided water to the baths, fountains, public and private buildings of Nîmes. Constructed of enormous blocks of stone (6 tons) sans cement but creating a perfect seal, the aqueduct was ingenious and remained in use for nearly 500 years. When it was built 2000 years ago, at 160 feet high the aqueduct was the tallest bridge ever built.

Outside of the city St-Rémy-de-Provence stands one of the best-preserved Roman mausoleums. Despite its connotation as a burial tomb there are no remains within it. Next to the mausoleum is an arch built over the Roman road Via Aurelia. It marked the entrance to the ancient Roman city of Glanum, whose remains were discovered in 1921. Since then excavations have been slowly revealing the city that prospered at the crossroads between Italy and Spain. Destroyed in 480 A.D. by the Visogoths, the town continues to reveal Roman life.

This is a picture of the remains of the excavated city of Glanum. On the right are columns from a wealthy family’s domus (house). Far back on the left the three columns are part of a temple complex.

Vaison-la-Romaine was a prosperous Roman city for 500 years. Today its biggest discovery is excavation of this Roman city on the Ouvèze River. Begun in 1907, it is France’s largest archaeological site and new discoveries are still being found. Excavations have split the ancient city into two districts, Puymin and La Villase, because of modern roads and buildings that are located on top of the unexcavated areas. We visited the digs in the Puymin district and the pictures shown are from here. This part of the city held the house of the “Laurelled Apollo” so named because of the white marble head of Apollo found here. This house covers 2,000 square meters with some parts still unexcavated because of their location beneath modern buildings. On site is a museum housing a collection of marble statues including Hadrian, the emperor accredited with Hadrian’s Wall in Britannia (Great Britain).

Also excavated is a theater built in the first century A.D. which could seat 6,000 in its hemicycle (semi circle seats) where comedies, plays and dramas were performed.

The Gallo-Roman bridge here shows that the Romans were brilliant engineers. In 1992, a flash flood overflowed the banks of the Ouvèze River wiping out all the bridges in Vaison-la-Romain that spanned it except for the oldest, the Gallo-Roman bridge.

Our last stop for exploring Gallo-Roman ruins takes us to Orange, home to a massive theater that takes your breath away at its magnitude. Coming into the theater from the upper levels gives the feeling that you are stepping back in time. The theater was constructed during Augustus’ reign. Two thousand years ago the Romans engineered the theater to have perfect acoustics and magical effects. Trap doors in the stage allowed for disappearing acts and sound and light effects could give the appearance of thunder and lightning. The great stage wall is made with red sandstone and is 338 ft long and 120 ft high. Two large side rooms built within the wall, parascaenia, were used as a storage area for props, as well as a place for actors to hang out. Within the back wall is a statue of Augustus Caesar (11ft.high) greeting the audience. Still used today for concerts the theater is unique because of how well the back wall has been preserved. The stage wall is usually one of the first things in antiquity to disappear because its stones were used as building material for later projects. Highly decorated with friezes and mosaics the stage wall had 3 levels of marble columns. Numbering between 76-122 columns on each level, few remain today.