DRAFT

The villa of Saint Martin

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

Sublocation

The villa of Saint Martin

Villa

The villa of Saint Martin

Keywords

Villa Description

Taradeau lies about thirty kilometers west of Fréjus in the valley of the Argens between Les Arcs and Lorgues. The Gallo-Roman villa sits at the foot of the hill of Saint Martin, at an altitude of 70 meters, some 750 meters north of the Argens. It was excavated from 1994 to 1999. This villa with a Roman wine press was occupied from the first century B.C. to seventh century A.D.. In stages 1 and 2, it was a farm, which was then remodeled into a villa (stage 3) in the last years of the first century or first half of the second. The former farm became the agricultural part, while a new pars urbana was created. It was organized around a garden [1], 34 meters on a side, surrounded on three sides by a U-shaped, 2.3 meter-wide portico with columns. In the center of the garden was an ornamental pool (7.2 by 2.8 meters and 1 meter deep) lined with opus signinum with an overflow drain to the exterior of the south enclosing wall. It is presumed that the villa was supplied water by an aquaduct. Around the pool, cuts into the substrate have attested the planting of trees or large bushes which would have embellished the interior of the garden. The northern portico, of the Rhodian type – that is, with higher columns than the other three – opened onto a main room [2] (7.6 by 3.6 meters) which is centered in the axis of the pool. To the west, a triclinium[3] (5 by 3.5 meters) had a floor paved in opus signnum decorated with marble plaques indicating the placement of the three couches.

In a fourth stage, the villa lost its residential character: the pars urbana was converted into a winery. The ornamental pool was modified to feed a hydraulic device [4]. It was extended to 18.4 meters in length and joined to a second rectangular basin (5.2 by 1 meters) which led the water into a final basin which served to turn a horizontal waterwheel.

Garden Description

Plans

Plan of The Villa of Saint Martin

Bibliography

  1. Brun, Jean-Pierre. Carte Archéologique De La Gaule: 83, Le Var 1. Paris, 1999, vol.2, P. 765-771, plan P. 765. (worldcat)

Places

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