Alba Helviorum on Gardens of the Roman Empire

Baths of La Planchette

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

Ancient Roman colony (founded 118 BCE) and senatorial province located in modern southern France, along the Mediterranean. This province had stronger cultural and political ties to Italy than the rest of Gaul.

Location

Sublocation

Baths of La Planchette

Garden

Baths of La Planchette

Keywords

Garden Description

To the northeast there are the baths of la Planchette, today backfilled. This bath complex of modest dimensions may have been attached to the northeast angle of the court of the house. It is surrounded on the exterior by a large gutter for rainwater. To the northeast of the bath building a rectangular pool has been found of about 3.5 x 2 m and having a semicircular apse with a diameter of 2 m. It is without doubt an ornamental pool belonging to the exterior garden associated with the baths. The nature of the ground surface around it is unknown. At the time of its discovery, the pool still had a water supply pipe of lead.

Plans

Fig.1 Plan of Baths of La Planchette_1

Fig.2 Plan of Baths of La Planchette_2

Bibliography

La Maison Urbaine D'époque Romaine: Atlas Des Maisons De Gaule Narbonnaise. Vaucluse: Service d'archéologie du Conseil général de Vaucluse, 1996, P. 82-83. (worldcat)
Chr. Fraisse, J. Dupraz, L'Ardèche, CAG 07, Gap, 2001, P. 155-156.

Places

Le Pinard, House A

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

Location

Sublocation

Le Pinard, House A

Garden

Le Pinard, House A

Keywords

Garden Description

This vast house lies 120 m southwest of the theater in the southern quarter of the ancient town at a place called le pinard, "the wine" from the pinot grape. Partially excavated in 1967-1968, it is still not entirely unearthed. The known portions extend over 1250 m2 of which 715 m2 are useful covered area. The last state is dated to the second century, but one may well suppose that there were earlier states not yet studied or exposed.

The natural slope of the terrain towards the east led to building the house in levels around a central garden [9]. On three sides – north, south, and west – the garden is bordered by a gallery perhaps with a second floor above. The fourth, lower side was closed by a wall. The almost square courtyard, about 17.5 m on each side, was certainly treated as a garden. An ornamental pool is centered on the reception wing on the west side, which is dominated by a large triclinium [6] which opens onto the garden by a large bay. This rectangular pool is about 11 m in length and has the peculiarity that its bottom has two levels differing by about 20 cm although the water surface of the pool is all on the same level. It is terminated on the western, uphill side by a little semicircular apse surmounted by a niche in a mass of masonry. This little structure does not seem to have been intended to be viewed from the triclinium but from the other end of the garden. Into this masonry is integrated a well about 10 m deep, cut into the marl, which functions at the same time as the pool.

Plans

Plan of Le Pinard, House A

Bibliography

Bouet, Alain. La Maison Urbaine D'époque Romaine: Atlas Des Maisons De Gaule Narbonnaise. Vaucluse: Service d'Archéologie du Conseil Général de Vaucluse, 1996, P. 76-77. (worldcat)
Chr. Fraisse, J. Dupraz, L'Ardèche, CAG 07, Gap, 2001, P. 153-154
Gros, Pierre. L'architecture romaine: du début du IIIe siècle av. J.-C. à la fin du Haut-Empire. 1, 1,. Paris: A. et J. Picard, 2011, P. 190-191.(worldcat)

Places

Le Pinard, House B

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

Location

Sublocation

Le Pinard, House B

House

Le Pinard, House B

Keywords

House Description

This house is also 120 southwest of the theater, in front of house A. Excavated in 1967-1968, the parcel covers 450 sq m, with a useful covered surface of 401.5 sq m. It was constructed in the second century. Only the southwest corner is known; the rest is lost or not excavated.

On entering from the east-west street, after passing through two incidental rooms, one comes into a vast space [1] occupied by a pool of about 2.5 x 3.5 m connected by a ditch to the sewer in the street. This room, in which some see an atrium (?), may be a vestibule with pool connecting with the entrance of which the tower may have been treated as a garden (?). [This makes no sense to me; how can a tower be treated as a garden? Maybe "tour" (tower) was supposed to be "cour" (courtyard).]

Plans

Plan of Le Pinard, House B

Dates

A.D 101-200

Bibliography

La Maison Urbaine D'époque Romaine: Atlas Des Maisons De Gaule Narbonnaise. Vaucluse: Service d'archéologie du Conseil général de Vaucluse, 1996, P. 80-81. (worldcat)
Chr. Fraisse, J. Dupraz, L'Ardèche, CAG 07, Gap, 2001, P. 154
Gros, Pierre. L'architecture romaine: du début du IIIe siècle av. J.-C. à la fin du Haut-Empire. 1, 1,. Paris: A. et J. Picard, 2011, P. 190-191.(worldcat)

Places

Les Basaltes, House A

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

Location

Sublocation

Les Basaltes, House A

House

Les Basaltes, House A

Keywords

House Description

This house is in the eastern quarter of the town, near the temple of the Basaltes, 200 m to the west of the forum. It lies 35 m to the south of the apparently private baths of la Planchette, near the temple of the Basaltes. Excavated in 1983-1984, the walls are for the most part destroyed down to the level of the foundations. The house covers an area of 632.5 sq m, with a usable covered surface of 356.9 sq m. After a previous state not well known, it was rebuilt between 10 and 20 A.D.. It saw several phases before being abandoned at the end of the third century. The eastern part of the house is unknown.

At the end of the Augustan epoch, a courtyard occupied the southern part of the area, without doubt an area free of construction with an entrance porch on the south [7]. Later, it was rearranged with a space [4] on the west which was long considered agricultural.

A peristyle [15] seems to be starting off towards the north, but its limits are unknown. The stylobate delimiting the west branch of the portico [14] was constructed only in the Flavian period. We know only the southwest corner of the peristyle, however the nature of the surface of the open space has not been ascertained.

At first, this relatively modest dwelling was thought to have perhaps belonged to an artisan or peasant. But the presence of the private baths to the northeast opens the possibility of seeing in it a part of a great domus with porticos and a grand central garden and associated baths. There is, however, a discrepancy between the luxury of the baths and the simplicity of the excavated area of the house, which seems to have been a service or common area.

Plans

Plan of Les Basaltes, House A

Places

Saint-Pierre, House or Public Building

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Province

Province Description

Location

Sublocation

Saint-Pierre, House or Public Building

House

Saint-Pierre, House or Public Building

Keywords

House Description

Excavations in 1964-1969 on the site of the former [or ancient] church of St. Peter brought partially to light a building with an area of about 1200 sq m. It was constructed towards the end of the first or beginning of the second century, but it is unclear whether it was public or private.

The western wing, of which 30 m is known, has rooms richly decorated with marble plaques, painted surfaces, and white mosaics. It borders a courtyard organized around a rectangular pool. The large room [1] (10.2 x 8 m) is centered on this pool and opens onto a portico with mosaics [5] 3.30 m wide. Against the portico, in the axis of the room [1] was placed a small, almost square pool, 2.40 x 2.6 m. A second pool, dug into the ground of courtyard, measures 8.30 x 12 m. Its walls and surroundings are made of large, rectangular limestone blocks. The limits of the space decorated by this pool are not known.

Plans

Fig.1 Plan of Saint-Pierre, House or Public Building

Bibliography

R. Lauxerois, P. Andre, G. Jourdan, et alii, Alba, de la cité gallo-romaine au village (département de l'Ardèche), Guides archéologiques de la France, 1985, p. 61-62 (worldcat)
Chr. Fraisse, J. Dupraz, L'Ardèche, CAG 07, Gap, 2001, P. 157-158.