Ambrussum - WikiHQ

Ambrussum (, ; )  is a Roman archaeological site in Villetelle, Occitania, Southern France.

It is close to the modern town Lunel, between Nîmes and Montpellier. Ambrussum is notable for its museum, its staging post on the Via Domitia, its bridge Pont Ambroix over the Vidourle, painted by Gustave Courbet, and for its oppidum (fortified village). Its history of settlement spanned 400 years.

The whole site is still being excavated. A lower settlement prone to flooding was a staging post for travellers on the Via Domitia and provided stabling and accommodation and the full range of repair facilities that were needed by carts and the Imperial postal service. The higher settlement was based on a pre-Roman oppidum which was within a surrounding wall including 21 towers. The Romans re-modelled the oppidum, so there is evidence of a complete range of housing styles from the earliest one room dwellings to sophisticated courtyard houses on the second century AD.

The Roman road, the Via Domitia, ran at the foot of the settlement, leading from it is a paved road with visible with traces of Roman chariot tracks. The Roman bridge was used until the Middle Ages but fell into disrepair, and only one complete arch remains.

Location

Ambrussum, or its alternative spelling of Ambrusium, is mentioned as a staging post (mutatio) on the Antonine Itinerary of AD 200, on pilgrims' guide on the route to the Holy Land of AD 333 and on the Peutinger map of 1520. All place it midway between Nimes (Nemausis) and Castelnau-le-Lez (Sextantio), about from each.

The Via Domitia linked the Alps with the Pyrenees, and is the oldest Roman Road in Gaul, more specifically Gallia Narbonensis in France. Laid out by Cneius Domitius Ahenobarbus around 120 BC, it was to become part of the roads that linked Italy with Cádiz in Spain. At Ambussum the Via Domitia crosses the Vidourle, and the settlement provided a staging post on this road. Directly adjacent to the site, the modern A9 autoroute, the Languedocienne crosses the Vidourle and at this point there is the modern day equivalent of a mutatio, the Aire de service de Lunel. The site is reached through the village of Villetelle.

The bridge is 20 m above sea level, and the highest point of the oppidum is 58 m. When in spate the Vidourle will rise by 8 m. From the highest point, the Oppidum de Nages is easily seen. Further one can see Mont Ventoux, Pic Saint-Loup, and the hills of the Cevennes including the Causse du Larzac and Mont Aigoual.

History

The site was first settled in 2,300 BC and the construction started on the oppidum around 300 BC. It was a settlement of Gauls. The Romans conquered the area in 120 BC. The paved road at the heart of the oppidum was laid around 100 BC. Between the oppidum and the river was a staging post (mutatio) on the Via Domitia. That, and the Pont Ambroix were constructed in around 30 BC. The flow patterns of the river changed around 10 BC; it became more aggressive and flooding became more frequent. The large houses on the south of the oppidum were built in AD 50. The whole oppidum was abandoned in AD 100, but parts of the lower settlement were still in use in AD 400, and the Pont Ambroix continued in use throughout the Middle Ages. It took a battering from the Vidourlades, or violent floods or spates on the Vidourle. During a spate, the water flow increases from a minimum of 3 m<sup>3</sup>/s to over 3000 m<sup>3</sup>/s. Floods were recorded on 8 October 1723. The floods of 18 November 1745 reduced the bridge from four arches to three. Further major floods occurred on 6 October 1812, 21 October 1891, and 21 September 1907. The floods of 7 September 1933 reduced the bridge from two arches to the one we see today.

After the Romans settled the area in 120 BC the hill was redeveloped, the residential areas were reorganised, and the road through the settlement from the east gate to the south gate was paved. The south gate was enlarged and a large square was cleared behind with a civil basilica, stones of which made their way in the second century AD to the staging post. The Via Domitia would have passed around the hill, but it has been speculated that it passed along this narrow road. The route of the Via often passes along roads with the name 'Route de la Monnaie', but as this originates from a translation of 'raised road' it merely shows that the road was using Roman construction techniques rather than that it formed part of the Via Domitia. The south gate does lead to a 'Route de la Monnaie', but the paved road in the oppidum has a gradient of 9% and is too narrow for carts to pass, although it would have been suitable for important visitors. The paved road at the east gate leads towards the bridge, but stops abruptly at a steep bank. It is thought that the river has undercut the bank at this point and removed all traces of the road.

The north of the post-conquest oppidum is densely populated, but the houses there were of the domus style found throughout the Empire - courtyard dwellings where the slaves lived closest to the entrance and the family in the building opposite.

Pont Ambroix

thumb|The remaining arch of the [[Pont Ambroix.]]

The bridge was built across the Vidourle River with 11 arches. It was still usable in the Middle Ages, with all 11 arches intact, but a sketch by Anne Rulman in 1620 shows only four and then when painted by Gustave Courbet in 1857 only two arches were left. One of those was lost in the flooding of 1933, so only a single arch remains.

Excavation

thumb|The Visitors' Centre designed by Michel Goroneskoul opened on 25 June 2011.

The antiquity of the Pont Ambroix had never been disputed and it had been visited by Mérimée, who included it in the first edition of his Historical Monuments of France in 1840. The adjacent hill, the Colline de Devès, was not investigated until the 1960s however. In 1964 Marc Fenouillet did a surface inspection in the vineyard at the base of the hill and found Roman era remains. In November 1967, the first archaeological test digging was begun on the hill itself by Jean-Luc Fiches and traces of the oppidum were found; a larger, volunteer dig was made the following July. In 1974, a path had been cleared around the ramparts and the oppidum was recognised and classified as an historic monument. Fortuitously, the fire revealed more features of the oppidum. The museum designed by Michel Goroneskoul opened on 25 June 2011.

References

External links

Website about Ambrussum
Webpage about Ambrussum
Painting by Gustave Courbet
A short Tour of Ambrussum