Via Domitia, Gallia Narbonensis

Most Recent Visit: June 2018 As has been discussed in previous posts, there are a number of sites that would be categorized as miscellaneous; not associated with any major site that would warrant a full post to itself, but also very much worth visiting. A number of these sites spring up along the path of…

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Arelate, Gallia Narbonensis – Part I

Most Recent Visit: June 2018. The Roman town of Arelate (modern Arles) seems to have begun life as a Greek settlement known as Theline, sometime in the 6th century BCE. In 535 BCE, the settlement was captured by the Saluvii and renamed Arelate, a Gallic language reference to the settlement’s proximity to a marsh. The…

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Arausio, Gallia Narbonensis

Most Recent Visit: June 2018 Not far from the confluence of the Rhône and L’Aigue rivers is the French town of Orange, which boasts perhaps two of the most well-known Roman monuments in France; the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Théâtre Antique d’Orange and the Arc de Triomphe d’Orange. Located in the territory of…

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Alba Augusta Helviorum, Gallia Narbonensis

Most Recent Visit: June 2018. Tucked into a fertile agricultural valley about 7 kilometers to the west of the Rhône, along the L’Escoutay River, a tributary of the Rhône, are the remains of the Roman town of Alba Augusta Helviorum. The archaeological site is located just to the north of the present-day town of Alba-la-Romaine,…

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Glanum, Gallia Narbonensis – Part II

Continued From Glanum Part I Monumental Area Further on from the residential area of Glanum to the south is the monumental area, where many of the public buildings or the settlement were located. Immediately south of the bathing complex is what is described as being the curia, or some kind of town council or town…

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Avennio, Gallia Narbonensis

Most Recent Visit: June 2018 Over a thousand years before Avignon was the ‘City of Popes’, the focal point of a schism in the Roman Catholic church for which the city is most famous, it was the Roman town of Avennio (or Avenio). Avenio’s history, though, stretches back well before the Romans set their sights…

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Colonia Julia Equestris, Gallia Belgica

Most Recent Visit: June 2018 Nestled along the shore of Lake Geneva, about 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Geneva is the small town of Nyon. Prior to the arrival of the Romans, the area was under the control of the Helvetii, who apparently had an oppidum at or near the site of the…

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Noviodunum, Gallia Lugdunensis

Most Recent Visit: June 2018. The site of the modern-day city of Jublains, France seems to have been inhabited by the Gallic Diablintes people (also referred to as the Aulercii Diaulitae) as a domestic site as early as the late 2nd century BCE. The town of Noviodunum (also known as Noeodunum or Noiodunum, and not…

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Syracusae, Sicilia – Part II

Continued From Syracusae – Part I  Just to the west of the park, though outside, are some rows of tiered seating associated with a possible viewing area, referred to as the ‘linear theater’. This may be the remains of a 5th century BCE, or earlier, theater that preceded the theater in the park. It has…

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Tarraco, Hispania Tarraconensis – Part II

Continued From Tarraco Part I (See Map Here) Located just next to the circus, at Plaça del Rei 5, is the impressive Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona (MNAT). The museum is open in the summer (June 1st to September 30th) on Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 to 20:30, and from 10:00 to 14:00 on Sundays…

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