Villa de Pardigon 3
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
Villa
Villa de Pardigon 3
Keywords
- peristyles (Roman courtyards)AAT:300080971
- porticoesAAT:300004145
- columns (architectural elements)AAT:300001571
- reception roomsAAT:300077176
Villa Description
This wine-producing villa, constructed under the Flavians, lies in the plain, in immediate proximity to the sea. Excavated in 1985 and 1986 and covering an area of some 2000 square meters, it went through three stages between the last quarter of the first century and the beginning of the third century. The site was then re-occupied in the fourth century.
The principal buildings were constructed in the first century; in the second century, the peristyle [1] was added. The garden in it (8.3 by 6.6 meters) is surrounded on four sides by a 2.3 meter wide portico, with five columns on a side. In the garden were found trenches for planting trees and vegetables. To the south, a gallery serving as a façade runs along this peristyle. To the north, there was a square reception room [2] (4.5 meters on a side) later embellished by the construction of a large bay on its garden side. The bay was framed by two columns more massive than the others of the portico that supported a pediment and lifted the roof of this portico above those of the rest of the peristyle. To the west, a structure in the corner formed no doubt a tower and belvedere overlooking the sea. To the east of the peristyle, a second courtyard, [5] had a well whose rim was the top of a dolium. Further to the east was a bath wing (50 by 30 meters). North of the reception room was an open-air courtyard [4] 8.3 meters wide, and beyond it, the storage area for wine in casks occupied a large area 52 meters long and 12 wide.
In a final stage, at the beginning of the third century, the garden was transformed into a court and then into a dump, and the south branch of the peristyle was divided by a partition.
Plans
Dates
A.D. 1-100 principal building constructed A.D. 100-200 peristyle added A,D. 200-300 garden transformed into a court then a dump
Bibliography
- Brun, Jean-Pierre. Carte Archéologique De La Gaule: 83, Le Var 1. Paris, 1999, vol.2, P. 324-330, plan P. 326. (worldcat)