Several excavations carried out in Nîmes had already uncovered blocks whose size and number suggested the possible existence of a circus – now lost – within the city. Excavations carried out in 2014 and 2019 at the Hôtel de Valfons uncovered the foundations of a late-antique wall, built in the 5th century, which had been obscured by an 18th-century fountain. The central plinth of the fountain is composed of rendered rubble stone and a reused block decorated with a bas-relief depicting a chariot race. This block appears to form part of a continuous frieze and to originate from a monument built on a circular base. Does this discovery provide further evidence of the existence of this 2nd-century circus? Or is it an element belonging to a funerary monument, like those found at other Gallic sites?
In Beutin, in the Pas-de-Calais, the remains of a bathhouse dating from two distinct periods of occupation have been discovered on the banks of the Canche: the first between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and the second during the 3rd century and the very early 4th century. The construction of the second, more imposing building appears to have involved a complete redesign of the thermal complex associated with the villa. The identified spaces can be divided into two distinct thermal sections, suggesting two separate circuits. One follows a classical layout, organised around a hypocaust and three successive rooms: frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium. The other features two hypocausts associated with two rooms. One of these is a heated room without a pool, far too large to be interpreted as a tepidarium. It would provide access to a palestra and then to a small, very hot room which could be a laconicum/destrictarium. We propose that the building associated with this second occupation was dedicated to physical exercise. It would therefore constitute the first evidence of this type of facility in Gallia Belgica, following Alain Bouet’s identification of a corpus of similar buildings in southern Gaul.
Martial’s epigrams dealing with sport and sportsmen are far fewer in number than one might think. The corpus consists mainly of epigrams on the uenationes, others on gladiators and charioteers, and a few brief references to pugilists and boxers, discus throwers, weightlifters, runners, acrobats and jugglers. Several texts deal with various ball games played by citizens in the palestrae, games which enjoyed great popularity. Finally, Martial mentions certain athletes, no doubt real-life figures. This article takes a two-pronged approach: to examine the image Martial presents of athletes and to set out his criticism of gymnastic exercises. Whilst ever keen to praise the emperor—for the pleasure he brings to spectators and for his leniency towards combatants—Martial paints a scathing, ironic and frankly disparaging picture of the champions of the arena, whose veneration he regards as a perversion of authentic Roman values. Those who devote themselves to physical exercise are not held in any higher regard. A particularly virulent attack is directed at Spartan customs, which allow naked men and women to mingle in the gymnasiums. One epigram thus targets the lesbian Philaenis, who, through her sexual, dietary and physical practices, is likened by Martial to a perverse man and a Greek. Here again, his desire to please the emperors of the post-Neronian dynasties by challenging practices of Greek origin introduced by Nero is intertwined with his personal aversion to such behaviour, which he deemed unworthy of honourable Romans.
The town of Augustodunum, which was probably founded at the end of the 1st century BC, follows a street grid inherited from a Hippodamian layout centred on the cardo maximus. This grid defines around one hundred and fifty ancient blocks. Excavations carried out on block XI-9, situated within the monumental centre running along the east side of the cardo maximus, have revealed the remains of a large building, of which two phases are visible: the first dating from the High Empire, the second from Late Antiquity. This building, whose architecture and topographical layout may resemble those of a schola, as seen in Pompeii or Ostia, could correspond to the scholae Maeniane or ‘Maenian schools’, restored by Eumenes and mentioned in a text from the Latin Panegyrics.
Our understanding of the world of gladiators today relies mainly on the study of Latin or Greek inscriptions. However, a less prominent body of evidence—consisting of spontaneous and direct accounts in the form of graffiti—provides a better insight into popular attitudes and individual perceptions relating to gladiatorial combat. Whilst many such accounts have been found throughout the Roman provinces, few have been discovered in Gaul, and research into them is scattered across a number of different publications. This article therefore aims to compile and present a coherent corpus of twenty graffiti found in Gaul, through an analysis of their geographical and social context, as well as a comparative analysis. All are dated to between the 1st and 2nd centuries, a period during which gladiatorial combat enjoyed its greatest popularity in the Gallo-Roman provinces.
For several decades, historians and archaeologists tended to downplay the importance of circus games in Gaul and the Gauls' interest in these entertainments. John Humphrey, in particular, in his 1986 book Roman Circuses, claimed that Gaul (Narbonensis, Lyonensis, Aquitania and Belgica) had only a small number of circuses compared to other Roman provinces. Furthermore, the corpus of inscriptions mentioning circus games is relatively sparse in Gaul compared to other regions. Do these two elements – which remain to be confirmed – allow us to conclude that circus games were less frequent and less popular in Gaul than elsewhere in the Empire? Our intention in this article is above all to take stock of the current state of our knowledge while proposing a different approach. Rather than questioning the degree of popularity of the ludi circenses in Gaul based exclusively upon quantitative considerations (number of buildings, inscriptions or graffiti, etc.), we will instead ask to what extent circuses and their shows in Gaul appear to differ, or not, from those in the rest of the Empire, based upon the documentation available to us.
‘The Gallic Hercules’ is the title commonly given to a short work by Lucian in which he provides a commentary on a depiction of the deity that he observed in Gaul.This name, which dates back to the Renaissance, reflects both the Celtic originality that the author himself sought to imbue in his portrayal of the Greek god, and the interpretation put forward by scholars, who long believed in the existence of a specifically Gallic type. In support of this literary account, archaeologists, for example, have endeavoured, in vain, to unearth material evidence and have been tempted to equate this Gallic Heracles with the Celtic god Ogmios. However, since the early 2000s, doubt has replaced these lines of interpretation. The renewed interest in Lucian among literary scholars in recent decades cannot settle the question of the existence of this representation he describes, but it does reveal its element of literary creation. By turning our attention to Lucian’s other depictions of Heracles – a Heracles in the Greek mould – we shall gain a better understanding of the rationale behind this Gallic god, entirely fabricated by the author, in a mirror-like staging which, in our view, amounts to pure fiction. Lucian, indeed, delights in playing with tradition and mythological material in order to draw from them—under the guise of legendary authority—motifs for emulation and inspiration, reasons to speak, but also, by occasionally creating surprise, to make others speak.
The urban development of the cities of Gaul provides an insight into the extent of their integration into the Roman Empire, and amongst the iconic monuments, the amphitheatre occupies a prominent place. These venues, designed to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators, were the setting for contests and games funded by local elites who won the favour of the crowds by providing entertainment in the form of athletic displays. Despite their apparent abundance in the ancient urban landscape, entertainment venues remain relatively rare in Gallia Belgica, as this marker of urbanitas ultimately applies to only a few towns, exclusively provincial capitals and the main towns of the civitas. The Metz amphitheatre features an elliptical arena surrounded by tiers of seating along its entire circumference. This layout distinguishes it from the semi-amphitheatres, which were also well known in Gallia Belgica. Its dimensions and estimated capacity make it one of the four largest amphitheatres in Gaul, alongside Tours/Caesarodunum, Poitiers/Limonum and Autun/Augustodunum. It is, however, with these last two entertainment venues that it shares the most similarities. The amphitheatre appears to have retained its original function until at least the second half, or even the third quarter, of the 3rd century. It was undoubtedly the construction of this entertainment venue that triggered the urbanisation of the outlying district near the town centre. During the 2nd century and the following century, a residential quarter developed around the amphitheatre’s esplanade, following an orthogonal grid dictated by the main road leading south. The types of buildings, their fittings and their décor seem to indicate the presence of a relatively affluent community of traders, whose settlement may have been motivated by the economic activity generated by the amphitheatre. The example of the amphitheatre at Metz/Divodurum also illustrates the very long-term consequences of constructing a performance venue in an urban centre.
Situated between the Gulf of Genoa and the Gulf of Lion, the colony of Olbia was founded by Massalia in 325 BC as a trading and supply port, later becoming a vicus. Excavations have uncovered the remains of several thermal baths. In one of these buildings, a harness fitting was found which could be dated to the 4th century. For a long time, archaeologists considered this artefact to be a piece of furniture fittings, a belt plate or a decorative element for caskets. However, from 2001 onwards, it was possible to identify it as a harness fitting based on comparisons with similar pieces found in Spain and the south of France.
In the Roman world, and particularly in Gaul, certain everyday objects served as prime iconographic media. All these objects conveyed a particular vision of Roman identity, to which most of their owners presumably subscribed, and thus contributed to the dissemination of the Empire’s values. These are, in particular, objects whose manufacturing techniques – such as casting – allowed for mass and repetitive production, as well as widespread distribution. The motifs depict a variety of subjects, including figures which we shall refer to here, generically, as ‘athletes’. These are the figures who take part in the games and spectacles held in amphitheatres and circuses: gladiators, charioteers, wrestlers, boxers and beasts. To these is added the mythological figure, the archetype of the athlete: Hercules. These depictions are found on sigillata ceramic vases and various types of fine pottery with applied decoration, on moretum moulds, terracotta lamps and figurines, glass vases (mould-blown, glazed or engraved), fibulae, balsamaria and statuettes made of copper alloys (cast), intaglios in stone (engraved) or glass (moulded), as well as small objects carved from hard animal materials (bone, ivory). Whilst sigillata vases and terracotta lamps were in widespread use across various strata of society, the other artefacts were of more limited use, whether from a chronological, societal or functional perspective. But how were these subjects represented in the everyday lives of the Gallo-Romans? A detailed examination of the iconographic motifs, their frequency of occurrence and the types of media on which they appear enables us to provide some answers here. Similarly, a statistical analysis of certain collections of objects allows us to assess their relative importance by category of medium and to identify, in some cases more precisely, the period to which they belong.
Drawing on evidence in the form of murals, mosaics and graffiti on painted plaster, the aim here is to reflect on how what we regard as sport – and more specifically athletics – in Roman times is depicted in the Gallic and Germanic provinces. The discussion is approached with caution, partly because such depictions are few and far between, and partly because they predominantly feature physical activities that were more spectacles than sports: gladiatorial combat and hunting in amphitheatres. Undoubtedly a spectator sport, gladiatorial combat took on considerable importance during the High Empire, with significant consequences for Roman society. From the end of the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD, these combatants were trained like athletes, well-equipped, and became adored champions in an environment where large sums of money changed hands, not least through betting and prize money. These combatants were seen as role models and heroes, sometimes compared to or associated with Hercules. The relatively small body of depictions of gymnasium games and athletes’ dances is of interest in that it reveals the venues and competitions, as well as whether or not nudity was practised. Although it appears that swimming played an important role in the Roman world, it is the physical activity least frequently depicted in the body of work currently available.
L’article présente la base de données des faits archéologiques planimétriques (FAP) développée sous QGIS dans le cadre du projet PARCEDES financé par l’ANR. L’objectif est d’intégrer l’ensemble des découvertes de fossés, tronçons de chemins, palissades, etc., dans le cadre d’opérations d’archéologie préventive réalisées dans le sud de la Vendée et dans la plaine de Nîmes. La base est alimentée par des données alphanumériques provenant des rapports d’opération et des données planimétriques (plans papier et numériques). L’article décrit les choix effectués en amont pour la définition des entités, la structuration de la base, le choix du logiciel et du format des données, puis il évoque un premier retour d’expérience en Vendée puis à Nîmes, avant de conclure sur les possibilités d’analyse. Ainsi, cette base ambitionne d’être un outil d’harmonisation pour la collecte de données archéologiques sur les faits planimétriques anciens, favorisant une meilleure compréhension des systèmes agraires historiques.
