Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché
MonumentHidden Treasure
Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché, located in Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône), is a ancient remains built in Antiquity. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Antiquity
- Location
- Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.6760, 4.6281
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081130
In the heart of ancient Arles, these Roman remains buried between the old archbishop's palace and the Hôtel des Postes bear silent witness to the splendour of Arelate, the flagship city of Roman Gaul and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
Between two Haussmann-style buildings in the historic centre of Arles lies one of the city's best-kept secrets: a Roman vestige whose sobriety is matched only by its historical density. Listed as a historic monument since 1922, this archaeological site fits into the urban fabric of Arles with a discretion that contrasts with the power of the civilisation to which it is heir. Far from the great arenas or the ancient theatre, which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, it belongs to that category of remains that reward the informed onlooker. Arles - ancient Arelate - was one of the most important cities of the Western Roman Empire. As the favourite residence of Constantine I and a commercial crossroads between Italy and Hispania, it boasted an exceptional density of architecture: forums, thermal baths, cryptoporticoes, a circus, necropolises... Every square metre of Arles' subsoil still conceals strata of this past grandeur, and this Roman construction is a concrete illustration of this, revealing the archaeological depth of an urban fabric that has been uninterrupted for over two millennia. The experience of this site is that of an intimate encounter with ancient material. There's no spectacular staging here, just a direct confrontation with Roman masonry that has survived twenty centuries of history without ever quite disappearing. Visitors can see the strange continuity between the Roman world and the contemporary city that has been built over, around and sometimes against these structures. The site itself - wedged between a postal service and a former medieval archiepiscopal palace - is a perfect illustration of the urban palimpsest so characteristic of Arles. The surrounding area makes for an even richer visit: just a stone's throw away are the Saint-Trophime cloister, the Alyscamps and the cryptoporticoes of the Forum, all UNESCO World Heritage sites. These remains form part of a remarkably coherent archaeological itinerary, providing an insight into the spatial organisation of the ancient city as a whole.
Architecture
This Roman remains displays the typical characteristics of provincial Roman construction in the High Empire. The masonry, probably opus incertum or opus mixtum combining limestone rubble and brick quoins, bears witness to the construction techniques used in the major Gallic cities between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. Local limestone, quarried in the Alpilles and around Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, is the dominant material, as it is in almost all of Arles' ancient buildings. The location of the remains, between the Hôtel des Postes and the former Archbishop's Palace, in a sector corresponding to the ancient upper town, suggests that they may have been fragments of a public or semi-public building of some importance: urban thermal baths, a forum portico, a commercial warehouse (horreum) or even the base of a patrician domus. The Roman walls that have survived are of a thickness and regularity characteristic of institutional buildings, as opposed to the lighter walls of modest private dwellings. The preservation of the remains, which are partially visible at street or basement level, illustrates the way in which medieval and modern construction integrated ancient structures by reusing them as foundations. This practice, common throughout the Roman city of Arles, explains why so many architectural fragments have survived to the present day, protected by successive layers of later construction.
Related Figures
Jules César — fondateur de la colonie romaine d'Arelate en 46 avant J.-C., qui donna à la ville son statut de grande cité impérialeConstantin Ier — empereur qui fit d'Arles sa résidence de prédilection au IVe siècle et intensifia les constructions monumentales de la villeAusone — poète et haut fonctionnaire romain du IVe siècle qui célébra la grandeur d'Arles dans ses écritsHonorius — dernier grand administrateur romain d'Occident qui maintint Arles comme centre politique majeur au début du Ve siècleJean-Pierre de Fontvieille — archéologue et érudit arlésien du XIXe siècle qui contribua à l'inventaire des vestiges antiques de la villeFernand Benoît — archéologue provençal du XXe siècle, directeur des Antiquités de Provence, qui supervisa plusieurs fouilles majeures dans le périmètre arlésien
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché located?
Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché is located in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché built?
Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché dates back to a period built during Antiquity.
Is Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché open to visitors?
Construction romaine située entre l'Hôtel des Postes et l'ancien Archevêché is currently closed to visitors.