DRAFT

The House of the Lion

Contributor: Yichen Liu
Published: 2021-04-21
Modified: 2025-06-29

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

saint-roman-en-gal
saint-roman-en-gal (Pleiades)

Sublocation

The House of the Lion

House

The House of the Lion

Keywords

House Description

This house is today, as when it was built, only a few meters back from the right bank of the Rhone. It is now under the museum. It was completely uncovered in 1987 so that its lines might be respected in the building above it, and then covered over to protect it during construction. The museum sits above it on pilings so that at some future time the house can again be unearthed. It was built in the second century, covered a surface of more than 2500 square meters, and was occupied 100 to 150 years before being destroyed by the river. The name comes from a mosaic of a lion found in room [10] and now in the museum. The insula is separated into two parts by an east-west wall. It is difficult to determine whether the structures on either side are two halves of the same house or two different houses. However, the northern part was composed mainly of reception areas and lacked service rooms, so the assumption that it was somehow one house seems plausible.

Plans

Plan of the house of the lion

Dates

It was completely uncovered in 1987 so that its lines might be respected in the building above it, and then covered over to protect it during construction.

Bibliography

  1. Gros, Pierre. L'architecture Romaine Du Début Du Iiie Siècle Av. J.-C. À La Fin Du Haut-Empire: 2 Maisons, Palais, Villas Et Tombeaux Paris: Picard, 2001, p. 189-190.worldcat

  2. Recherches Archéologiques À Saint-Romain-En-Gal, 1988-1990. Vienne: Société des amis de Vienne, 1992, P.78,81.worldcat

  3. Bouet, Alain, and Isabel Figueiral. Les Thermes Privés Et Publics En Gaule Narbonnaise. Rome: École française de Rome, 2003, p.259-263, fig. 182-183.worldcat

Places

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