Draft:Vieux-la-Romaine

• Comment: An article by a slightly different name already exists on this subject. CitrusHemlock 20:27, 18 February 2025 (UTC)

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Vieux-la-Romaine
The “suburban” domus of Vieux-la-Romaine
Location	Roman Empire, Normandy, Calvados (department)
Coordinates	49°06′15″N 0°25′53″W

Vieux-la-Romaine is an archaeological site, corresponding to the Gallo-Roman village of Aregenua, located in the commune of Vieux (Calvados), about 15 km south of Caen. Excavated since the time of Louis XIV, the ancient town flourished under the Roman Empire. Chief town of the Viducasses, Aregenua (a Gallic name meaning “above the mouth”, in this case of the Guigne, a stream that flows into the Orne) boasted the monuments and buildings that identify a Gallo-Roman Civitas capital.

History

Birth of a Gallo-Roman town

Hypocaust of the great peristyle house

Aregenua was established in the 1st century AD as the capital of the Viducasses, one of the peoples of Lyonnaise Gaul. The city is documented as a stopover on the Peutinger map. It reached its peak during the 2nd and 3rd centuries but experienced a decline in the 4th century.

According to inscriptions on the pedestal of a statue discovered at the site (Thorigny marble), the city held a privileged fiscal status, and its magistrates were granted Roman citizenship by right. The inscriptions also provide details about the career of one of its Gallo-Roman citizens, who rose to the Conseil des Gaules, as well as the construction period of the thermal baths, which is dated between 220 and 238.

The decline of the city in the Late Empire

Hard hit by the first barbarian invasions at the end of the 3rd century, Aregenua was not surrounded by a city wall.

At the time of Christianization, it did not become the seat of a bishopric, unlike most of the other cities of the future Normandy. All these signs and causes point to the decline of the Viducasse capital.

However, Aregenua was not abandoned in the Low Roman Empire. Archaeologists have documented new construction and restoration of houses, as well as the discovery of coins and handicrafts, indicating the persistence of long-distance trade. At the same time, Augustodurum (Bayeux), fortified by a castrum, appears to have gained greater importance than Aregenua during this period.

Abandonment of the site in the Early Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages, the inhabitants moved a little further north (Saint-Martin hamlet) and used the Gallo-Roman ruins as a quarry to build their homes (e.g. Gaudines house). Aregenua was no more than a simple vicus.

Archaeological reconstruction of the village

Simplified map of Aregenua

Archaeological excavations have made it possible to reconstruct a detailed picture of Aregenua, particularly because no modern city has been built over the Gallo-Roman remains. This type of preservation is quite exceptional for an ancient capital city (similar to the case of Jublains). The first discovery, the Thorigny marble, dates back to 1580, and systematic excavations began at the site in 1697–45 years before those at Pompeii.

Aregenua is located at a crossroads of ancient routes: the Chemin Haussé, identified as one of the routes on the Peutinger map, connected Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse to Jort. This route remained in use throughout the Middle Ages, as evidenced by its designation as the “Chemin du Duc Guillaume” in some land registers.

Location of the various Roman buildings in the city

The Chemin Haussé

Archaeologists have identified several monumental constructions:

• An aqueduct;
• A medium-sized Roman theater (about 80 meters in diameter), transformed into an amphitheater in the 2nd century;
• Public Roman baths. Its two founders are known to have been town notables: Solemninus and his son Titus Sennius Sollemnis;
• A sanctuary in which an altar to Venus and Mars was found. This temple lies beneath the present-day Church of Notre-Dame;
• A domus of exceptional decorative quality. Known as the “House with the Grand Peristyle”, it was excavated in 1988-1991 by P. Vipard. Covering an area of 1.250-1.500 m², its layout is organized around a central courtyard with an impluvium and surrounded by a peristyle. Several rooms were heated by a hypocaust. The ceremonial hall, courtyard, and garden were decorated with frescoes of Achilles and Tethys, bacchic sculptures, columns carved with plant motifs, pillars adorned with bas-reliefs and mosaics. The domus also retains some of its original limestone paving. This is a typical Mediterranean residence, demonstrating the assimilation of Roman architecture by the northern Gauls.

View of the forum excavations, open to the public during the 2016 European Heritage Days, the final season of the excavation

The Vieux-la-Romaine archeological museum, opened in 2002, displays the finds, while the House with the Grand Peristyle (or rather, its restored remains) is freely accessible.

Based on plans created by the Société des antiquaires de Normandie, recent aerial and geophysical surveys have confirmed the presence of the town's forum and various public buildings, including thermal baths, a curia and likely a civil basilica, in the area known as “le champ des crêtes”. A new excavation campaign began in 2007 and was expected to continue in the coming years to further explore these public buildings, which remained poorly understood in the context of the ancient city of Aregenua.

All archaeological remains discovered in the Bas de Vieux area are included in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments (ISMH, June 27, 1988). Regarding the ruins of the Gallo-Roman theater, they are protected under two classifications: the remains in the Jardin Poulain area are listed (CLMH, April 21, 1980), while those in the School area are only registered in the supplementary inventory (ISMH, June 2, 1980).

All the archaeological remains found in the Bas de Vieux area are included in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments (ISMH, June 27, 1988). Regarding the ruins of the Gallo-Roman theater, they are protected under two classifications: the remains in the Jardin Poulain area are listed (CLMH, 04/21/1980), while those in the School area are only registered in the supplementary inventory (ISMH, June 2, 1980).

See also

• Vieux-la-Romaine archaeological museum
• History of Normandy
• Roman villa

Bibliography

• Bertin, Dominique (1977). "La topographie de Vieux - Araegenuae (Calvados), capitale de la cité des Viducasses, d'après les fouilles anciennes et les sondages récents" [Topography of Vieux - Araegenuae (Calvados), capital of the city of the Viducasses, based on ancient excavations and recent test pits]. Annales de Normandie (in French): 131–150.
• Delaval, Éric (2004). "Vieux / Aregenua (Calvados)". Supplément à la Revue archéologique du centre de la France (in French): 497–500.
• Hincker, Vincent (2007). "De la ville antique au village médiéval. Déclin de la capitale de la cité des Viducasses, Vieux (Calvados) du IVe siècle à l'an Mil" [From ancient town to medieval village. Decline of the capital of the city of Viducasses, Vieux (Calvados) from the 4th century to the year 1000.]. Annales de Normandie (in French): 3–26.
• Deniaux, Élisabeth. "La Conquête et l'intégration à l'empire romain" [The Conquest and integration into the Roman Empire]. La Normandie avant les Normands [Normandy before the Normans] (in French). Rennes: Ouest-France. ISBN 9782737311178.
• Demarest, Mélanie; Prieto, Clarisse; Pillault, Sophie; Schütz, Grégory (2023). "Données nouvelles sur les lieux de culte à la périphérie de Vieux/Aregenua" [New data on places of worship on the outskirts of Vieux/Aregenua]. Annales de Normandie (in French). 73 (1): 67–94. doi:10.3917/annor.731.0067.
• Vipard, Pascal (2006). "Un exemple d'échec urbain en Gaule Lyonnaise : Aregenua, chef-lieu des Viducasses (Vieux, Calvados)" [An example of urban failure in Lyonnais Gaul: Aregenua, chief town of the Viducasses (Vieux, Calvados)]. Actes du colloque de Cerisy-la-Salle (in French): 29–44.

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Categories:

• Roman villas in France
• Gallo-Romans
• Ancient Roman architecture