Si le nettoyage du secteur de la tour méridionale de Saint-Blaise réalisé en 2011 a d’abord permis aux archéologues de documenter les vestiges du rempart archaïque parementé de stèles, cette opération visait également à porter un éclairage sur les composantes architecturales de la fortification en grand appareil de l’époque hellénistique. Grâce à une relecture du bâti déjà dégagé par H. Rolland et dans la suite des travaux menés par J.-C. Bessac et H. Tréziny sur cette partie de l’enceinte, des compléments d’information ont été apportés sur certains aspects techniques de la construction. Parmi eux, l’étude minutieuse des trous de pince visibles sur les faces supérieures des blocs a livré des indications sur le sens de progression du chantier. De même, il apparaît que les talons observés à chaque angle de cette tour ont été disposés afin de faciliter l’établissement du tracé géométral de l’ouvrage. Enfin, les données métrologiques relevées ont contribué à mettre en évidence le schéma directeur appliqué au plan de cet éperon polygonal, dont la forme interroge sur les influences méditerranéennes mises à profit pour renforcer à la fois la défense militaire de l’habitat gaulois et la valeur ostentatoire de la muraille hellénistique.
Le col de la Forcle se situe dans les Alpes de Suisse occidentale, non loin de la frontière entre la Haute-Savoie et le canton du Valais. En 2012, des bois sont récoltés dans les environs du col, à proximité du glacier de la Forcle dont le réchauffement climatique entraîne la fonte accélérée. De 2013 à 2023, les campagnes de prospection régulières vont conduire à la récolte de plusieurs centaines de fragments ligneux. Le lot le plus important est constitué de piquets en bois de résineux, soigneusement taillés en forme de lance, dispersés sur le versant nord du col. Les remontages montrent qu’il s’agit de perches d’environ 1,50 m de long avec un talon appointi et une pointe soigneusement travaillée. Plus de cinquante pièces ont été identifiées. Les mesures radiocarbone de neuf individus révèlent une bonne concordance sur les trois premiers siècles après J.-C. Certains fragments présentaient un nombre élevé de cernes de croissance. L’analyse dendrochronologique de ces derniers permet d’affirmer que ces piquets ont été façonnés à partir d’arbres abattus vers 158 apr. J.-C. Leur distribution spatiale laisse penser à un ou plusieurs lots placés ou abandonnés près du col, disloqués et dispersés par les mouvements des glaces et les eaux de fonte. L’interprétation de ces « lances » demeure énigmatique : dépôt rituel ou perte accidentelle de bois destinés à être transportés ailleurs.D’autres fragments ligneux ont été également récoltés et datés par radiocarbone : le plus ancien, un gros bois équarri, remonte au premier âge du Fer. On recence des bâtons de marche ou piquets de marquage (balises) du xiiie-xive s. apr. J.-C. ainsi qu’un lot de bois du xve-xviie s., de dimensions uniformes (0,70 m de long) dont certains ont été soigneusement refendus par moitié (bois de feu ou cerclage de récipients).Si, dans les Alpes orientales, les travaux en milieu glaciaire sont menés depuis plusieurs décennies, les investigations dans les Alpes de Suisse occidentale et de Savoie sont récentes, la plupart des trouvailles encore inédites. Les études en cours et à venir apporteront assurément un nouvel éclairage sur l’histoire des passages de haute altitude dans les massifs alpins.
North of Nîmes (Gard), the scrubland called the garrigue is home to a rich archaeological legacy that has received little archaeological intention. A quarry operation for the extraction of rock, which after 15 years would become the city of Nîmes’ largest run-off water retention basin, covered an 8-hectare area in a sector covered with agro-pastoral structures. An archaeological assessment conducted in 2015 revealed ancient quarries beneath the dry-stone huts (capitelles) and pasture walls. These quarries covered a significant portion of the marly limestone plateau included in the project area.Following this assessment, the Regional Archaeology Service prescribed excavations. The Antiquailles excavation began in September 2016 and continued until the end of the year, covering 26,000 m2. After studying the modern vernacular structures—probably built primarily from ancient extraction waste—the excavation focused on clearing and conducting a comprehensive study of one of the quarry zones. Additional trenches and windows were dug to obtain a better picture of the scale of the operation. The quarries appear to have been concentrated within the prescribed area, with some extraction fronts observed to the south and southwest during the assessment, which were not revisited. The trenches also revealed the presence of agriculture between the four identified quarries, dating to the early Imperial period.All the trenches showed that the exclusive target of extraction was a specific type of module: slabs of very large dimensions but often minimal thickness. The extraction techniques were identical across all observed layers and zones. A detailed study of one quarry gave precise insights into the extraction methods employed, and how rock layers, waste, and pathways were handled.This quarry, which had a total surface area of approximately 1,400 m2 and a maximum depth of about 3 metres, was divided into three main sectors separated by residues which demarcate them. Extraction would begin in the centre of one sector, and once it was completed the space would be occupied by waste, contained by small walls. Development then proceeded on multiple fronts, with debris accumulating while passageways were maintained between storage areas. Roadways were constructed between the walls, remnants or fronts, on quarry floors, and sometimes on embankments. These roadways were made by the juxtaposition of polygonal and fragmented slabs that had been rejected. They facilitated the movement of the extracted materials to the exterior. The absence of traces of wear on their surface suggests that they were used briefly, just long enough to open a few new fronts that were quickly abandoned.The extraction traces were systematically recorded in order to define the procedures employed by the quarrymen, the type of production, and the volume of extracted materials. Two main types of traces were identified. In the first type—rarely observed and only on the quarry floor—a groove was cut in order to delineate the slab to be extracted. These grooves were made with a launched percussion tool, such as a flat-edged chisel of Hellenistic tradition, or a pointed tool like a pick. The second type of trace consisted of roughly egg-shaped hollows at the opening, slightly flared and regularly aligned, forming “dotted lines” found on the quarry faces and floors, where they always delineated large rectangular surfaces. These hollows were made with a mortise chisel and sometimes a drill bit, accommodating small wedges, two examples of which were found, probably combined with shims that would have been used to detach the slabs from the rock along their perimeter. This technique offered several advantages: it was faster than the traditional cutting method, reduced waste, and allowed for specialisation in work methods.The thickness of the layers varied little, averaging about ten centimetres. The imprints of extracted slabs or remnants in the quarry were studied to obtain information about the types of products extracted from these thin layers. While widths varied, lengths were the most interesting criterion for understanding their use. Two groups stood out, with average lengths of 3.01 metres and 4.30 metres. The particularly large dimensions of these slabs relative to their thickness indicate that they would have required delicate handling both in the quarry and during transport to the city, which probably explains the large quantities of waste. The total extracted volume was approximately 2,330 m3, with an estimated usable volume of 25-30%, or about 580 m3, representing roughly 1,120 slabs.The rare archaeological artifacts found in the excavation waste date to the very beginning of Augustus’s reign. These excavations indicate that the quarrying must have been a response to a single, standardised order, intended for a specific use. Indeed, these thin slabs, in which length was the only criterion, were used exclusively to pave the bottoms of some large, vaulted collectors identified beneath the old city. All were lined with sections of paving identical in thickness to the Antiquailles slabs. They mark the beginning of the development of the city of Nîmes within the context of the Augustan city-building programme.
L’article propose l’édition d’une nouvelle « pierre à quatre dieux » mise au jour lors de fouilles dans le chef-lieu de la civitas Tungrorum, Tongres/Atuatuca (province de Limbourg, Belgique). Le monument est intéressant en lui-même, mais il évoque en outre la fréquence dans la région de l’élévation de colonnes dédiées à Jupiter qui reposaient sur ce type de socle. La pierre présente la particularité de proposer parmi les quatre divinités, avec Junon, Mercure et Apollon, figures classiques, Silvain, ce qui est plutôt rare, en lieu et place d’Hercule. L’examen de ces sculptures révèle une grande qualité d’exécution et permet une datation à la fin du iie ou au début du iiie s. apr. J.-C. L’étude des dieux représentés est l’occasion d’une révision des pratiques religieuses de la cité et de son panthéon.
This article describes the urban development of Mainz in Late Antiquity. For a long time, the legionary fortress located on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers provided sufficient protection for the provincial capital of Germania superior. At the height of the crisis in the middle of the 3rd century AD, however, a city wall became necessary, which meant a decisive change in the local topography. This led to a densification of the settlement intra muros with a simultaneous decrease in settlement areas outside. The burial grounds moved closer to the city again. During the Constantinian period the city once again experienced a period of prosperity. One expression of this was the construction of a mighty theatre. This boom ended with a severe crisis after the usurpation of Magnentius (350-353 AD). Legio XXII probably perished at that time and the city was destroyed by fire. Under the emperor Valentinian I at the latest, the legionary fortress and a third of the canabae were abandoned and a reduced city wall was built. During the 5th century AD the settlement centre shrank further intra muros to a strip close to the Rhine.
Archaeological operations carried out in Autun over the last thirty years allow an initial analysis of the spatial dynamics of Augustodunum during Late Antiquity, from the end of the 3rd to the middle of the 5th century. The notable feature is the progressive shrinkage of the urban area, which tends to regroup into two distinct poles, corresponding to a Late Antique fortified district, located in the southern tip of the city, and to the city centre of the 1st-3rd centuries. Craft activities are still attested in lower town, but seem less important than in the 3rd century and are now established in the city centre. In the area located outside the Late Antique fortification, occupations are generally in earth and timber from the second half of the 4th century, while we observe the multiplication of masonry structures within the late fortification from the 5th century onwards. The topography’s evolution after the mid 5th century is more difficult to understand because structures seem to be established in the “dark earth” layers, which have been poorly studied in Autun.
This article presents a revised analysis of the topography of the town of Soissons/Suessionum during Late Antiquity (second half of the 3rd century to the 6th century), the result of a positive comparison between the assumptions usually made about this town and the archaeological data acquired between 2001 and 2023 in the Soissons area, with excavation in advance of development being the main tool used to acquire the data. Founded in the Augustan period, the ancient town covers an area of 120 ha. In the last quarter of the 3rd century, it folded in on itself, within a “castrum” of around 12 ha, by which time the periphery had been almost completely deserted. While tradition describes a unipolar space centred on the fortified core, recent research has revealed a more complex spatial organisation. The beginnings of a reappropriation of land outside the city walls can be seen as early as the 4th-5th centuries. In the 6th century, the appearance of multiple centres of domestic occupation—regularly coexisting with craft activities—on the margins of the core city but also on the right bank, together with the various events following the introduction of Christianity, lead to the hypothesis of a multipolar organisation of the territory. The perceived dynamics thus show the evolution of a centralised model towards a multipolar structuring of Suessionum, prefiguring the urban topography of the town in the early Middle Ages.
Over these last few years great progress has been made in research into the civilian settlement connected with the Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst, canton of Aargau, Switzerland), the so-called suburbium. First and foremost, post-excavation analysis of site 2008.003 DH Implenia, Mühlegasse, in the southwestern outskirts of the fort, revealed exemplary evidence of settlement continuity into the 5th century AD. In this location the late Roman settlement stratigraphy was preserved thanks to a terrain dip overlaying a former quarry exploited during the Imperial period. Geoarchaeology, coins and analysis of the extensive find assemblages enable a detailed interpretation of the buildings and strata. Recent excavations carried out in the southern and southwestern areas surrounding the fort yielded further insights into the Late Roman settlement topography. Smoke ovens and drying kilns, together with animal bones from these contexts, provide evidence of food processing. In addition to numerous other Late Antique finds, these are indicative of lively settlement activity from the 4th into the 5th century AD. However, the character of the settlement is still unclear in many respects. There are some remains indicating buildings erected with lightweight construction work. A few canal heating systems from the suburbium also attest to more sophisticated residential buildings. A recently recorded stone building in the southwest of the castrum was equipped with a canal heating system. This heating system contains numerous bricks carrying stamps of the Late Roman legio I Martia. It is worth considering whether it was a building with a public function. The surprising discovery of a hitherto unknown Late Roman amphitheatre right next to the castrum highlights the multifaceted character of the fortification surroundings. The aim of the paper is to present the current state of research into the suburbium of the Castrum Rauracense, with particular focus on the relationship between the castrum and its suburbium and its inhabitants.
The aim of this article is to study polynuclear occupation during Late Antiquity in some towns of the provinces of southern Viennensis and Narbonensis secunda. This study is based first and foremost on the cases of Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône, France) and Fréjus (Var, France), which have benefited from an increasing number of sites excavated in advance of development, enabling us to follow the topographical evolution of these towns up to the 6th century. While this study is based primarily on these two cities, it also looks at the case of two other civitas-capitals, Arles and Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône, France). Particular attention is paid to the question of the role played by the Early Empire city walls with which these cities were equipped, for example as a separation between the living and the dead.This study shows that the topography of towns in southern Gaul underwent profound changes during Late Antiquity, with the abandonment of large areas intra muros from the early 3rd century AD onwards, and a concentration of settlement around the cathedral from the 5th century onwards. In some cases, a number of monuments inherited from the Early Empire also attracted housing or craftsmen, inside or outside the city walls, although this was not systematic. It can sometimes be assumed that this reduction of the occupied surface area led to the construction of a new fortification, for example around the cathedral. However, the early Roman walls continued to play their symbolic role as a separation between life and death, as, with the exception of Fréjus, intra muros burials remain exceptional during Late Antiquity. As in Marseille, real suburban districts developed, but it doesn’t seem–and this is different from what we see in northern Gaul–that extra muros religious foundations lay at the origin of the longer-lasting formation of real suburbs in Provence. In most cases, these nuclei do not seem to have had a very long life, as they do not appear to have survived beyond the 6th century, except in Marseille, where the areas outside the eastern curtain wall were not abandoned until the early 8th century: it is only in Aix-en-Provence that this division of the city intra muros into several nuclei is maintained throughout the Middle Ages.
This general introduction also serves, in some respects, as a conclusion and a perspective, as is customary in issues of Gallia dedicated to specific topics. An opening section sets out the agenda of the conference that gave rise to this work, which took place from 7 to 9 December 2023 in Bordeaux. Organised under the auspices of the Association Antiquité tardive en Gaule (ATEG), it focused on the subject of the main cities and was entitled “Les villes de l’Antiquité tardive en Gaule et dans les régions mitoyennes : des sites multipolaires ?”.The first part is devoted to the contribution of textual sources, which are few but useful, and then to the issue of peri-urban areas, which is at the heart of the subject, discussing questions of vocabulary and constructing an image of these elements in the High Empire, serving as a point of comparison for the rest of the volume.The second part begins with a discussion of some of the difficulties encountered when looking at the cities of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, outlining in particular the specific case of the “dark earth” characteristic of these periods. The focus then shifts to the significant upheavals in urban topography between 200-250 and 500-550 AD, both in the Dioecesis Galliarum and the Dioecesis Viennensis: urban shrinkage, new city walls, new forms of occupation intra and extra muros, social changes, etc.The third part lists the potential factors –exogenous and endogenous– behind these profound changes, successively addressing the potential effects of epidemics, famines, wars and the monumental hypertrophy that characterised the prosperous period of the High Empire.The fourth part broadens the discussion by placing the cities of late-Antique Gaul in the wider context of “neighbouring regions”, notably Italy, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, particularly from the perspective of “città ad isole” and the “multipolar city”.The fifth part, which precedes a conclusion that also serves as an introduction, presents some of the perspectives emerging from the overall reflections. It revisits the chronology of events, city walls and the new urban fabric, the impact of the Christianisation of societies, and the world of the dead, before going on to develop new approaches and how they could change our perspectives and analyses.
The evolution of Reims/Durocortorum during Late Antiquity reflects a period of profound urban, social, and religious transformation, marked by the contraction of the city’s physical footprint and the reorganization of its spatial and functional dynamics. As the capital of Belgica Secunda from the 4th century onward, Reims underwent a dramatic reduction in its fortified area, shrinking from 600 ha during the High Empire to just 55 ha, a mere tenth of its former expanse. This contraction, likely initiated in the late 3rd century, was accompanied by the construction of a massive defensive enclosure, flanked by a double ditch, which redefined the city’s boundaries and raised critical questions about the fate of its peripheral districts.The late antique enclosure, constructed in the early 4th century, encapsulated a city in transition. While the enclosed area concentrated political, religious, and administrative functions, the urban fabric retained much of its earlier structure. The cardo maximus and decumanus maximus, the city’s principal axes, remained central and monumental structures were reconstructed or maintained. The public baths for instance, were rebuilt under the Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, reflecting imperial investment in the city’s infrastructure. However, the urban core was not static; it evolved through phases of demolition, material recovery, and reconstruction. Archaeological evidence identifies three major phases of transformation between the 3rd and 5th centuries: an initial wave of demolitions and material recovery between 250 and 270 CE, a more systematic phase of demolition and reconstruction between 280 and 320 CE and a final phase of decline between 380 and 420 CE. The 4th century itself appears as a period of relative stability, with fewer major reorganizations, suggesting a phase of consolidation rather than expansion.Beyond the enclosure, the peripheral districts of Reims exhibited a diverse range of occupations. While some areas were indeed abandoned, others remained active, hosting elite residences, artisan workshops, and even large-scale public or industrial buildings. For example, excavations near the Mars Gate, the northern gate of the late antique enclosure, revealed elite domus occupied until the late 4th or early 5th century. These residences, located just 200 m outside the enclosure, featured decorative elements (wall paintings, colonnades, ornamental rocks) and comfort features (hypocausts), indicating their occupants’ wealth and status. Their proximity to the cardo maximus suggests a strategic choice, possibly to maintain prestige and accessibility to the city’s core. Similarly, the discovery of a large public or industrial building on the Boulevard Docteur-Henri-Henrot, constructed in the early 4th century on the banks of the river Vesle, challenges the notion of a strictly enclosed Late Antique city. This structure, built on wooden piles and featuring at least seven furnaces, likely served as a state-sponsored bakery or workshop, reflecting its integral role in the city’s economic infrastructure despite its extra-mural location.The funerary landscape of Late Antique Reims also underwent significant changes, mirroring the broader urban transformations. Traditional necropoleis, such as La Haubette and La Fosse Pierre-la-Longe, continued to be used, though with reduced activity. Meanwhile, new funerary practices emerged, including isolated inhumations within abandoned or demolished districts, often in demolition trenches or rubble layers. These burials, predominantly male, may represent marginalized individuals, possibly labourers involved in the construction of the late antique enclosure. The cardo maximus and decumanus maximus retained their symbolic and practical importance, attracting new funerary areas along their routes. Additionally, the southern extra-mural area, near the future Saint-Remi basilica, became a major funerary hub by the 5th century, reflecting the rise of paleochristian practices and the city’s evolving religious identity.The demographic patterns observed in these funerary contexts further illuminate the social dynamics of Late Antique Reims. Intra-mural burials were predominantly adult males, with few immature individuals, while peripheral necropolises exhibited more balanced sex ratios and age distributions. The presence of exogenic individuals, identified through paleogenomic analysis, suggests mobility and cultural diversity, hinting at the integration of outsiders into the urban fabric. The study of Reims’ peripheral districts thus reveals a multi-nucleated urban landscape, where the enclosed city coexisted with dynamic extra-mural occupations. These areas were not mere extensions of the central core but distinct nuclei with specialized functions: residential, economic, and funerary. The persistence of elite habitats near the northern gate, the emergence of industrial complexes along the Vesle, and the adaptation of funerary practices all reflect a city in flux, responding to political, economic, and religious shifts. Rather than a uniform contraction, Late Antique Reims was a network of interconnected spaces, each contributing to the city’s evolving identity. This complexity underscores the adaptability of urban life in a period of transition, where tradition and innovation intertwined to shape the city’s future.
The process of Christianization among the Goths and Lombards, and their impact on the Catholic Church’s structure, remains a topic that has not been widely studied. Even with better archaeological evidence, it is difficult to determine whether a church was built for Catholic or Arian worship. The lack of clear physical evidence does not mean these places did not exist. Many later Catholic writers tended to overlook or ignore Arian influences, but in reality, these religious differences played an important role in the political and theological struggles of Late Antiquity. The present text tries to through new light on this topic analysing some new archaeological evidence from cities and castra located in Northern Italy particularly from the 6th century.In Northern Italy, the spread of Christianity from the 5th century onward was closely tied to the fortification of cities and surrounding territories. This process happened in several phases. As early as the 3rd century, defensive walls were built around major urban centers, and fortified structures were added inside them. At the same time, key routes through the Alpine and pre-Alpine valleys were defended with military outposts like clausurae and castella, as recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum. Despite these efforts, the Western Roman Empire could not stop the arrival and settlement of various groups often referred to as “barbarians”. This led to the formation of the Gothic Kingdom in Italy, initiated by Emperor Zeno, who sent Theodoric in 489 to defeat Odoacer.Recent research has shown that the building of churches in Northern Italy was closely linked to the reorganization of defenses. Another key aspect was the role of Arian Christianity, which was associated with the ruling Gothic elite. Archaeological findings from cities such as Padua, Verona, Mantua, and Trento indicate a connection between the presence of Gothic military and administrative figures and the establishment of Arian places of worship mostly extra muros. The foundation of these churches may have been an intentional strategy to strengthen ties between the Gothic rulers and their bureaucratic and military personnel.At the same time, the rise of fortified urban settlements, known as castra, led to a shift in city structure. This change marked the end of the planned urban model of the Roman period. The decline of the aristocracy, which had sustained the Roman city layout by maintaining their large homes, contributed to this transformation. Cities became more fragmented, with multiple centers instead of a single, dominant one. Examples such as Castelseprio and Monselice show how rural fortifications evolved into administrative centers by the late 6th century. Churches played a key role in these new urban centers, often becoming focal points for development. After a main religious building was established, more churches and monasteries followed in the growing residential areas.
Cities during Late Antiquity experienced topographical changes whose ins and outs are difficult to grasp. This is the case for Narbonne, whose site is the subject of archaeological monitoring accompanied by numerous interventions, thanks to which our knowledge of the phases of evolution of the agglomeration is gradually expanding. In the middle of the 2nd century AD, the capital of Narbonensis reached an area of about a hundred hectares. At this date, topographical growth reached its limits, and the stratigraphic signs of a decline multiplied in the second half of the same century. On the sites of Clos-de-la-Lombarde and Saint-Félix, two domus districts saw the establishment of churches surrounded by tombs. Both situations are convincing, but in many cases, the abandonment, continuity, or resilience of occupations is more difficult to grasp. This is the case when material from the end of Antiquity is present in the walls of buildings that no longer show any signs of activity. What meaning can we then give to the artifacts? Are they simple indications of peri-urban pollution generated by material scavengers, or do they reflect a form of alternative occupation whose architectural framework fed on the previous one and generated few, if any, developments of its own?Regarding the topography of Narbonne, the question of the late antique enclosure is preponderant. It is certain that the decline of the urban perimeter predates its establishment, but unknowns remain if we consider the chronology of the wall. Seen until now as a protective measure in response to the Frankish and Alamannic incursions at the end of the 3rd century, the work is certainly later, and new arguments support a dating in the first half of the 5th century in connection with the Visigothic threat. The operations, the results of which revealed late antique remains outside the walls, number around twenty. The sample is small, and the difficulties of analysis are increased by the random distribution of occurrences leading to an undeniable excavation bias. The sites of Clos-de-la-Lombarde, the Hôtel-Dieu, the Media Library, and rue Lakanal attest to several forms of external occupation other than religious and funerary.Does the construction of the wall inaugurate the end of the contraction process, by enveloping a city “center”, in some way “stabilized”, or does it, on the contrary, fit into the course of an unfinished topographical movement by favouring the protection of certain neighbourhoods to the detriment of others still inhabited and voluntarily excluded? In the first case, the end of the dynamic of regression and the fortification of the new urban limits describe a situation that is hardly compatible with the conformation of a multipolar city. It is otherwise with the second hypothesis, which induces, a contrario, the image of a fragmented occupation in which the fortified perimeter only concerns a part of the remaining habitat, like a “castrum” to the shelter of which all or part of the outside population can migrate to in the event of insecurity. The first of these two possibilities is the one towards which the information acquired to date tends.
This comparative study of the cities of the Southern Iberian Peninsula and North Africa explores the concept of polynuclearity as a defining element of the urban phenomenon in Late Antiquity. Late Antique authors such as Isidore of Seville, John of Biclar or Hydatius no longer employed the traditional nuanced vocabulary to define the city. Does this reflect a transformation in the nature of urban spaces, characterized by an increasing tendency toward polynuclearity? The concept of the polynuclear city, or “città ad isole”, emerged in the 1980s, in relation to the Early Medieval cities of Northern Italy. These multipolar towns were characterised by “a concentration of islets formed by aristocratic or ecclesiastical dwellings, separated by formerly urbanized but deserted spaces, and an absence of collective structures” such as a road network. How does this model work in the former Roman provinces of the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the north of Africa? The ANR/DFG “Atlas” research project examines this question through a selection of representative cities with well-documented Late Antique phases: Emerita/Merida, Carthago Spartaria/Carthagena, Corduba/Cordoba, Hispalis/Seville, Baelo/Bolonia in Southern Hispania; Carthago/Carthage, Simitthus/Chemtou, Ammaedara/Haïdra, Mactaris/Maktar and Leptiminus/Lamta in North Africa. These cities experienced the abandonment of classical public and religious spaces, often repurposed as quarries for construction materials or reoccupied by dwellings (e.g., Baelo) and workshops (e.g., Simitthus). However, the timing and extent of these transformations varied. Secondary towns such as Carthago Spartaria and Baelo were affected early, whereas major capitals such as Emerita and Carthago underwent these changes later. In some cases, the transformation began as early as the 2nd century, while in others it was only by the late 4th century. Overall, these shifts occurred earlier in Hispania than in Africa but accelerated everywhere during the 5th century.The developments contributed to the redefinition of urban centrality. Traditional centers were abandoned while new focal points emerged as in Corduba, often marked by new constructions. In contrast to the situation in Gaul and Italy where the “ruralization” of abandoned urban areas is well-documented, these phenomena sometimes appear as such in Leptiminus, but remain overall poorly recorded. Better known are the new constructions of the late period that contributed to the transformation of the urban landscape and the revising of urban centrality. These included the city wall (Emerita, Carthago) or fortifications (Mactaris, Ammaedara), which enclosed the areas to be protected that became integral to the new urban fabric. Churches, too, were built both within city walls and on their peripheries (Emerita, Simitthus, Carthago, Mactaris).Ultimately, the degree, intensity, and timing of these transformations determined the extent of polycentricity and potential polynuclearization in these cities. While the urban landscape undoubtedly changed significantly, the evidence suggests that polynuclearization was not a widespread phenomenon. Where it did occur, it raises the question of whether the fragmentation of former urban spaces ultimately challenged the very existence of the city. Interpreting these remains depends largely on how we define urbanity itself, and polycentricity is no exception. For a long time, Late Antique cities were perceived negatively, largely because they were measured against the Roman city as a reference model. This discrepancy likely influenced Late Antique authors as well: steeped in classical culture, their vocabulary struggled to adequately convey the evolving urban realities of their time.
Late Antiquity was long considered in Lyon as a period of economic decline, with the very sharp drop in the arrival of goods from the Mediterranean basin. This classic vision of the regional economy was however challenged by the discoveries made in the riverside districts of the Saône which showed that the city was experiencing an economic revival at this time. Indeed, since the 1980s, the numerous excavations carried out as part of rescue and then archaeology in avadvance of development in the Saint-Jean and Saint-Georges districts have uncovered remains from Late Antiquity associated with quantitatively and qualitatively significant ceramic corpora. The pioneering work of Jean-François Reynaud and Françoise Villedieu on the episcopal group and the excavations of the Clément V block and the rue Tramassac have significantly enriched the documentation on this period. They have shown that the Saint-Jean district housed new monuments associated with dwellings in the 4th century. Other more recent archaeological operations, such as the excavation of the Hôtel de Gadagne or that of the Parc Saint-Georges, have increased our knowledge of the modes of late antique occupation of the banks of the Saône, and suggest a relatively dense occupation of this district. For the other sectors of Lyon, much poorer in evidence, we have a series of testimonies to the abandonment of the Fourvière hill and an excavation carried out on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse, that of the Vieille Monnaie block, rich in information on the amphitheatre district. Of the suburban areas, only the funerary zones and the Christian places of worship were known until recently. The multiplication of archaeological operations on this former suburban space over the last fifty years has made it possible to recognize a range of occupation there with their organization and their evolution taking place during Late Antiquity. The documentation on the occupation of Late Antiquity, which is relatively old despite recent contributions, is still partly unpublished. It mainly concerns the riverside districts, particularly those located on the banks of the Saône, and the nearby urban periphery, which limits the vision of the topography of the city during Late Antiquity. However, reading this data allows us to propose hypotheses as to the modalities of the occupation in the best-evidenced sectors. This article thus seeks to establish a state of knowledge of the city of Lyon and its close periphery in the 4th and 5th centuries in order to understand the evolution of the topography of the city and its suburban space during Late Antiquity.Despite sometimes old and fragile documentation, the rereading of archaeological data, much of which remains unpublished, allows us to sketch the topography of Lugdunum during Late Antiquity.During this period, the city underwent profound transformations, including a shift in populations and materials from the Fourvière hill and the slopes of the Croix-Rousse to the riverside districts. Lyon then became a polynuclear urban site whose central axis would be the Saône. Contrary to past ideas, Lugdunum did not become an empty shell but remained a dense and active agglomeration. The city continued to be identified by its ramparts. These walls from the High Empire are still partially visible and enclose a vast area, part of which, the old upper town in particular, had partially returned to wasteland and cultivation. The hypothesis that a smaller enclosure was built during Late Antiquity is still open to discussion, but literary and archaeological evidence seems to point towards the establishment, at the beginning of the 4th century, of two enclosures on either side of the Saône. The first encompasses, on the right bank of the Saône, part of the Fourvière hill and the current districts of Saint-Paul, Saint-Jean and Saint-Georges, which were equipped with new monuments, in particular the episcopal group, which was located on the site of the current cathedral and which must have occupied a significant proportion of the land located within the walls, and the thermal baths. A habitat that was probably relatively dense was located around it, as well as craft workshops. The second enclosure surrounds another pole, located on the left bank of the Saône, upstream of its confluence with the Rhône, at the foot of the Croix-Rousse slope, more precisely around the amphitheatre and to the north of the Presqu’île. It included at least dwellings and craft workshops, but the forms of occupation are still unclear due to the paucity of documentation. The city had therefore shrunk, but it nevertheless remained significant in terms of surface area. The new enclosed area would total around 40 ha, divided between 36 ha for the lower town on the right bank of the Saône and its extension towards Fourvière and at least 3.6 ha for the north of the Presqu’île. Beyond these two new enclosed urban cores, the occupation was looser and more reminiscent of a peri-urban landscape with scattered dwellings and former urban centres that had become isolated and are perhaps morphologically similar to hamlets. Former public monuments were stripped of their architectural adornment, which is used in tombs or as foundation blocks. Funerary spaces, however, still exist outside the walls of the city of the Early Empire.Beyond the enclosure of the Early Empire, the suburban landscape was still composed of funerary sites, craft workshops, and dwellings scattered or grouped in a suburban agglomeration. However, it underwent some transformations. Ancient funerary monuments were dismantled, the aqueducts that supplied the upper town were abandoned, and some of the former scattered dwellings and the former grouped dwellings of the suburbs and the suburban agglomeration of Vaise were abandoned after the High Empire. However, new constructions were observed in this territory during Late Antiquity, particularly in the Vaise plain, which shows a certain vitality of the nearby countryside that continued to be exploited during Late Antiquity. The old suburbs retained a funerary function, particularly with the appearance of Christian burial sites. The suburban basilicas of Saint-Just, Saint-Irénée, Saint-Laurent-de-Choulans and Saint-Nizier, which were built there in the 5th century, probably restored a certain vitality to these territories that had been largely abandoned by the living since the 3rd century and the city’s shift to the riverside districts. The devotions made at the holy tombs that dotted the funerary spaces gave rise to processions that could draw large crowds, as during the one that took place to the tomb of Bishop Saint-Just, on the occasion of his birthday. The construction site of the basilicas, for its part, had to attract a large workforce, then the guarding and maintenance of the buildings required the establishment of a suburban population core. In Gaul, large pilgrimage basilicas ended up being extra muros population centres included in a larger enclosure in the Middle Ages. In Lyon, this is the case of the monastery of Saint-Just and the town of Saint-Irénée.Lyon ceramic material also shows a relatively significant economic vitality of the city during Late Antiquity. Products of Mediterranean origin continued to flow there until the end of the 5th century, at a time when Lyon was a royal residence of the Burgundians. Lugdunum thus remained a major centre of consumption and most certainly a centre of redistribution towards the Helvetic plateau and the more northern regions. The Saône and the Rhône, to which the city moved closer during Late Antiquity, certainly continued to play an essential role in communications with the outside world, as did the major road axes of the Early Empire which are still maintained. Lyon must then always have been crossed by passable roads and bathed by naviga flumina right up to its gates, like the cities described in a Panegyric of Constantine. At the end of Late Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages, the presence of a navigable and lively waterway was a characteristic found in most of the royal capitals of Barbarian Gaul (Lyon, Geneva, Chalon, Toulouse, Soissons, Paris, Orléans, Cologne, Metz). During the 6th century, the production and sale of ceramics became more regional in Lyon, and long-distance trade tended to decline. For other urban activities, strictly speaking, craftsmanship seems to be well documented, even if it was mainly focused on construction, particularly of churches, which transformed a large part of the Lyon landscape.
A vast development project to rehabilitate the buildings of the former police headquarters in the Castéja block on Rue Abbé-de-l’Épée in Bordeaux (France) has led to archaeological investigations in a previously unexplored area of the district. The excavation carried out in 2016-2017 identified occupation ranging from the Late Antique to the Modern period. In the northern sector of the property, test pits uncovered the remains of the former 17th-century Catherinettes convent, whose buildings were transferred to a 19th-century institute for young deaf-mutes.In the southern zone, excavations revealed burials dating back to the period of Late Antiquity, corresponding to a previously unknown sector of the Roman extra muros necropolis of Saint Seurin, located some 500 m north-east of the late-antique city wall.While some of these burials correspond perfectly with the remains already recognized in the Saint-Seurin necropolis, the excavation uncovered a highly unusual group of multiple burials containing up to 14 individuals deposited simultaneously. Although the anthropo-biological study indicates that subjects of both sexes and all ages are represented, with no selection criteria within the burial pits themselves, paleo-demographic analyses show anomalies characteristic of a mortality crisis linked to an epidemic.
This article describes the urban development of Mainz in late antiquity. For a long time, the legionary fortress located on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Rhine and Main Rivers provided sufficient protection for the provincial capital of Germania Superior. At the height of the crisis in the middle of the 3rd century AD, however, a city wall became necessary, which meant a decisive change in the local topography. This led to a densification of the settlement intra muros with a simultaneous decrease in settlement areas outside. The burial grounds moved closer to the city again. During the Constantinian period the city once again experienced a period of prosperity. One expression of this was the construction of a mighty theatre. This boom ended with a severe crisis after the usurpation of Magnentius (350-353 AD). Legio XXII probably perished at that time and the city was destroyed by fire. Under the emperor Valentinian I at the latest, the legionary fortress and a third of the canabae were abandoned and a reduced city wall was built. During the 5th century AD the settlement centre shrank further intra muros to a strip close to the Rhine.
This general introduction also serves, in some respects, as a conclusion and a perspective, as is customary in issues of Gallia dedicated to specific topics. An opening section sets out the agenda of the conference that gave rise to this work, which took place from 7 to 9 December 2023 in Bordeaux. Organised under the auspices of the Association Antiquité tardive en Gaule (ATEG), it focused on the subject of the main cities and was entitled “Les villes de l’Antiquité tardive en Gaule et dans les régions mitoyennes : des sites multipolaires ?”.The first part is devoted to the contribution of textual sources, which are few but useful, and then to the issue of peri-urban areas, which is at the heart of the subject, discussing questions of vocabulary and constructing an image of these elements in the High Empire, serving as a point of comparison for the rest of the volume.The second part begins with a discussion of some of the difficulties encountered when looking at the cities of Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, outlining in particular the specific case of the “dark earth” characteristic of these periods. The focus then shifts to the significant upheavals in urban topography between 200-250 and 500-550 AD, both in the Dioecesis Galliarum and the Dioecesis Viennensis: urban shrinkage, new city walls, new forms of occupation intra and extra muros, social changes, etc.The third part lists the potential factors –exogenous and endogenous– behind these profound changes, successively addressing the potential effects of epidemics, famines, wars and the monumental hypertrophy that characterised the prosperous period of the High Empire.The fourth part broadens the discussion by placing the cities of late-Antique Gaul in the wider context of “neighbouring regions”, notably Italy, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, particularly from the perspective of “città ad isole” and the “multipolar city”.The fifth part, which precedes a conclusion that also serves as an introduction, presents some of the perspectives emerging from the overall reflections. It revisits the chronology of events, city walls and the new urban fabric, the impact of the Christianisation of societies, and the world of the dead, before going on to develop new approaches and how they could change our perspectives and analyses.
Over these last few years great progress has been made in research into the civilian settlement connected with the Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst, canton of Aargau, Switzerland), the so-called suburbium. First and foremost, post-excavation analysis of site 2008.003 “DH Implenia, Mühlegasse”, in the southwestern outskirts of the fort, revealed exemplary evidence of settlement continuity into the 5th century AD. In this location the late Roman settlement stratigraphy was preserved thanks to a terrain dip overlaying a former quarry exploited during the Imperial period. Geoarchaeology, coins and analysis of the extensive find assemblages enable a detailed interpretation of the buildings and strata. Recent excavations carried out in the southern and southwestern areas surrounding the fort yielded further insights into the Late Roman settlement topography. Smoke ovens and drying kilns, together with animal bones from these contexts, provide evidence of food processing. In addition to numerous other Late Antique finds, these are indicative of lively settlement activity from the 4th into the 5th century AD. However, the character of the settlement is still unclear in many respects. There are some remains indicating buildings erected with lightweight construction work. A few canal heating systems from the suburbium also attest to more sophisticated residential buildings. A recently recorded stone building in the southwest of the castrum was equipped with a canal heating system. This heating system contains numerous bricks carrying stamps of the Late Roman legio I Martia. It is worth considering whether it was a building with a public function. The surprising discovery of a hitherto unknown Late Roman amphitheatre right next to the castrum highlights the multifaceted character of the fortification surroundings. The aim of the paper is to present the current state of research into the suburbium of the Castrum Rauracense, with particular focus on the relationship between the castrum and its suburbium and its inhabitants.
During the Late Empire, Vienne was the capital of the Allobroges. Built on both sides of the Rhône, the city developed rapidly to its peak in the 2nd century. The urban area is estimated to be of around 200 hectares. Ancient authors attribute its splendour and richness to its enormous territory, from Lake Geneva to today’s Ardèche department. The monumental architecture is exceptional (fortifications, leisure structures, the forum, sanctuaries, temples, trading areas, etc.) as are the residential areas, either on the left bank of the Rhône or on the right, in today’s Saint-Romain-en-Gal and Sainte-Colombe. The population of Vienne has been estimated to be between 20 000 and 30 000 inhabitants, on a major axis of circulation between Rome and Northern Gaul.The city was affected by the 3rd-century crisis. It lost two thirds of its inhabited area and a large portion of its population, though it kept some importance throughout the 4th century, even after losing its role as a provincial capital. Thanks to earlier and recent archaeological data, from excavations in the heart of the city but also in the surrounding area, we know it still maintained important monuments, such as the forum, the macellum or the ponderarium. Nevertheless, most leisure structures were abandoned and their materials re-used in new constructions. Occupied quarters, some richer than others, were also detected in some areas of the city. This is the case of the area of the cathedral of Saint-Maurice, where extremely well preserved latrines associated with heated structures may indicate the presence of a domus belonging to a high dignitary. Ancient literary texts and the recent discovery of a wall in the Place Saint-Maurice suggest that the city was protected by a wall built in the 4th century, even though not all researchers agree with this hypothesis.In the surrounding areas of Vienne, such as the southern area where the circus and trading areas were located, or the important areas in the right bank of the river (Saint-Romain-en-Gal – Sainte-Colombe), a large portion of the monuments and occupied areas were abandoned to the detriment to the funerary areas. These were built along roads that were still maintained. Remains of habitation and artisanal activities are also present, even if less prolific than those from earlier occupations. The data suggest that Vienne was a multi-polar site during the 4th century and after.
