{"id":235,"date":"2020-07-24T01:46:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T01:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=235"},"modified":"2020-08-06T22:16:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T22:16:59","slug":"touring-limonum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=235","title":{"rendered":"Touring Limonum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A guided walk through <em>Limonum<\/em>, as Poitiers was known by the Romans &#8212;    arguably the most important city in Western Gaul during the first three centuries of the Common Era.&nbsp;  Find where the baths, Imperial Palace, villas, main streets, and fortifications of the Gallo-Roman city were, and walk the outline of one of Gaul&#8217;s largest amphitheaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the Roman conquest of Gaul in 60 BC, the site of the future Poitiers was just one of several hilltop forts, or <em>Oppidum<\/em>, inhabited by the <em>Pict<\/em> tribe in the region.&nbsp; With its strategic location between Aquitaine and the north of Gaul, its naturally defensible location, and its proximity to the Atlantic (a vast bay reached much farther inland at that time, almost to present-day Niort), the Romans saw the site as a lynchpin for the western Empire.  The Romans turned the Gaul village into a major city, with a palace, large also-palatial villas, multiple baths, temples, and one of the largest Arenas in the Empire.&nbsp; Today\u2019s archaeologists continue to discover more remains from this Gallo-Roman era.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201cPeace of Rome\u201d came to a crashing end in the year 276 AD, when a first wave of Germanic \u201cbarbarian\u201d tribes invaded and destroyed <em>Limonum<\/em>, along with several other cities.&nbsp; <em>Limonum<\/em> was rebuilt, this time with fortified walls, which the Romans had earlier thought unnecessary, and the Gallo-Roman city flourished again for another century, until the Wisigoths and other invaders brought the Empire to an end.&nbsp; Even names changed, and Limonum was increasingly called by its other Latin name, <em>Civitas<\/em> <em>Pictovorum, <\/em>\u201cthe city of the Picts,\u201d which gradually became \u201cPoitiers\u201d.&nbsp; Today\u2019s traveler and history-buff can imagine the extensiveness and richness of Limonum, though Rome\u2019s monuments themselves have largely disappeared, in walking through the present-day city \u2013 even where the wine grapes were grown, and where the wine was shared with the ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/822_943_vignette_Poitiers-antique.jpg?resize=505%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-236\" width=\"505\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/822_943_vignette_Poitiers-antique.jpg?w=822&amp;ssl=1 822w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/822_943_vignette_Poitiers-antique.jpg?resize=350%2C243&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/822_943_vignette_Poitiers-antique.jpg?resize=768%2C533&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 505px) 100vw, 505px\" \/><figcaption>Plan de Limonum; production INRAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Starting Point:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    Pont Joubert<\/li><li>End Point:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;     Rue des Ar\u00e8nes Romaines<\/li><li>Distance:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;      2 Miles<\/li><li>Walking Time:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    50 minutes<\/li><li>Estimated total time:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2 hours<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Map: see at bottom of walk, or at link <a href=\"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=428\">here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Walk<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start your walk through <em>Limonum<\/em> on the banks of the <strong>River Clain<\/strong>, looking westwards at the <strong>Pont Joubert<\/strong> and the rise of the city, with \u201cHigh Street,\u201d the <strong>Grand\u2019 Rue<\/strong>, leading the way up the hill (map A).\u00a0 This is\u00a0 where most romans would have entered Limonum during the time of the Empire, crossing the Clain from the East: there is no trace that any bridge was here in Roman times, but there was a ford, just downriver from the bridge (one call tell from the offset between the Pont Joubert and the Grand\u2019 Rue).\u00a0 The Clain at the time would have been wider and deeper than it is today, and there was a (newly excavated) suburb on the eastern bank of the river \u2013 abandoned in the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> century at the time of the first Germanic invasions.\u00a0 Once across the Clain, you are at the foot of the <em>Decumanus<\/em>, the main East-West road through <em>Limonum<\/em>.\u00a0 All Roman cities had a <em>Decumanus<\/em>, and a perpendicular central North-South road, the <em>Cardo<\/em>.\u00a0 The <em>Decumanus<\/em> was probably considerably wider than the Grand\u2019 Rue (with its one-way downhill car traffic) is today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/poitiersgdrue.jpg?resize=413%2C309&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-237\" width=\"413\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/poitiersgdrue.jpg?w=567&amp;ssl=1 567w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/poitiersgdrue.jpg?resize=350%2C262&amp;ssl=1 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/><figcaption>La Grand&#8217; Rue climbing from the Clain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the intersection with the <strong>Impasse St Michel<\/strong> on the right, and with the <strong>Rue St Fortunat<\/strong> on your left, imagine yourself passing through a city gate, and seeing ten-foot-plus thick walls sweeping away in each direction above the flood plain.&nbsp; This is what you would have seen from about 280 AD onwards, when the Romans build Poitiers\u2019 first set of defensive walls.&nbsp; These 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Century walls, of which vestiges can be found here and there in Poitiers basements, and most visibly near the Palace (see below), say a lot about Limonum&#8217;s importance.  The walls were an impressive 2.6 kilometers in length, and enclosed a greater area than any other city walls in Gallo-Roman Aquitaine.&nbsp; The remnants of these walls also tell us about the earlier 1<sup>st<\/sup> and 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Century Limonum, as in building them extensive use was made of stone recycled from monuments and other buildings destroyed in the barbarian raid.&nbsp; To the south of where you are standing the <strong>Rue des Carolus<\/strong> traces the old footpath on the outside of the wall.&nbsp; Building extended onto this side of the plateau during the 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century AD, probably with the richer <em>domus<\/em> (houses) of the city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Murs-de-poitiers.jpg?resize=595%2C333&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-238\" width=\"595\" height=\"333\"\/><figcaption>Photo: La Nouvelle Republique<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Climb the rest of the Grand&#8217; Rue.  At the top of the hill, where the great church of <strong>Notre-Dame-la-Grande<\/strong> now stands, stood one of the city\u2019s temples (map B).\u00a0 Excavations under the Notre-Dame market, which was where the church\u2019s Cloister stood, uncovered ruins of not one but two Gallo-Roman temples.\u00a0 One temple was erected in the 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century, and was likely destroyed in the sack of the city by the Germanic tribes in 276 AD.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know who the Temple was dedicated to, but it must have been important, as another was built on the same site in the late 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Century, after the sack.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Cardo<\/em> of <em>Limonum<\/em>, the Roman city\u2019s main north-south road, would have been just west of here.\u00a0 Continue from the Grand\u2019 Rue onto the old <strong>Rue de la Regratterie<\/strong>, which would also have been part of the <em>Decumanus.\u00a0 <\/em>Turn right on the <strong>Rue des Vieilles Boucheries<\/strong>, then left on the <strong>Rue Descartes<\/strong> (named for the famous graduate of Poitiers\u2019 University: see \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=195\">Where is Rene Descartes\u2019 Finger?<\/a>\u201d for his story).\u00a0 The Rue Descartes and its continuation, the <strong>Rue de la Chaine, <\/strong> follow the trace of the Gallo-Roman <em>Cardo<\/em>, running down the slope from the plateau.\u00a0 Many of the houses on the old Rue de la Chaine date back to the 15<sup>th<\/sup> Century or even earlier.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/54907_1_rue-de-la-chaine_rue-de-la-chaine-1.jpg?resize=483%2C322&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-239\" width=\"483\" height=\"322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/54907_1_rue-de-la-chaine_rue-de-la-chaine-1.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/54907_1_rue-de-la-chaine_rue-de-la-chaine-1.jpg?resize=350%2C234&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/54907_1_rue-de-la-chaine_rue-de-la-chaine-1.jpg?resize=768%2C514&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 483px) 100vw, 483px\" \/><figcaption>Rue de la Chaine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Enter the courtyard of <strong>#24 on the Rue de la Chaine<\/strong>, and you\u2019ll find the <strong>Hotel Berthelot<\/strong>, dating to 1529 (map C).\u00a0 The mansion holds a unique academic institution, which testifies to the impact of Poitiers during the days of the Dukes of Aquitaine and beyond: this is the Center for Medieval Studies, a branch of the University not found anywhere else in Europe, and which attracts students and researchers from across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coming down the Rue de la Chaine to its end, you arrive to the site of the main Public Baths, or <em>Thermes<\/em>, of <em>Limonum<\/em>.\u00a0 As with all Roman cities, the Public Baths here would have been one of the major gathering places of the inhabitants of Limonum.\u00a0The vast area of the <em>Thermes<\/em> started where the old <strong>church of Saint Germain<\/strong> now stands (map D) &#8211; now no longer consecrated, and mostly a venue for concerts, and went further down the slope towards the river.\u00a0 The Saint Germain <em>Thermes<\/em> covered some 7 acres, and were adjoined by a large open area, perhaps a <em>Campus Martius<\/em> where outdoor events \u2013 games, military exercises \u2013 would have been held.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Poitiers_21695_Eglise-Saint-Germain.jpg?resize=423%2C317&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-88\" width=\"423\" height=\"317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Poitiers_21695_Eglise-Saint-Germain.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Poitiers_21695_Eglise-Saint-Germain.jpg?resize=350%2C263&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Poitiers_21695_Eglise-Saint-Germain.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 423px) 100vw, 423px\" \/><figcaption>Ancienne Eglise Saint-Germain, Poitiers.  Photo C&amp;F Baumgarth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Thermes-entry-NR.jpg?resize=236%2C315&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-240\" width=\"236\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Thermes-entry-NR.jpg?w=1337&amp;ssl=1 1337w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Thermes-entry-NR.jpg?resize=262%2C350&amp;ssl=1 262w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Thermes-entry-NR.jpg?resize=768%2C1025&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Thermes-entry-NR.jpg?resize=1150%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><figcaption>Entrance to the Thermes of St Germain, Poitiers.  Photo: Nouvelle Republique.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Thermes<\/em> here were fed by an Aqueduct built by the Romans \u2013 <em>the Aqueduct of Cimeau<\/em>, one of three that were built to supply Limonum with fresh water \u2013 starting at what is today <strong>Ligug\u00e9<\/strong> (a place which would become much more important in the 4<sup>th<\/sup> Century as the location of the first Monastery of Gaul; for this story see &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=170\">The First Monk<\/a>&#8220;). Parts of one of these Aqueducts remain visible above-ground a few kilometers south of the city (in the village of Saint Benoit, known as the <strong>Arches of Parigny<\/strong>), and below-ground, in the cellars of several houses along the Rue Arsene Orillard.&nbsp; Between the <em>Thermes<\/em> and the river lay the <em>Villa Kassanas<\/em>, one of the largest villas of Limonum, some of whose remains have been uncovered, probably belonging to a high-ranking member of the Roman military or civilian administration.&nbsp; From Kassanas derives the name <strong>Chassaigne<\/strong>, which applies to several places nearby, including the Boulevard which runs along the river.&nbsp; An underground tunnel brought water to the villa from a spring near the Governor\u2019s Palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century, the monumental way of <em>Limonum<\/em>, as in most Roman cities, would have run along the North-South <em>Cardo<\/em>.\u00a0 It began at the northern end with the <em>Thermes<\/em> at St Germain, connecting to the main road north to <em>Portus Namnetus<\/em> (Nantes) and <em>Lutecia<\/em> (Paris).\u00a0Leaving the old St Germain church, make your way one block west of the Rue de la Chaine, along the Rue de Champagne, to the Rue des Carmelites (map E).\u00a0 Parallel to the Rue de la Chaine, today\u2019s <strong>Rue des Carmelites<\/strong> was an old footpath, coming from the confluence of the Boivre and the Clain and climbing the plateau to where it entered the city.\u00a0 The <strong>Boivre<\/strong>, like its close namesake and also-covered river in Paris, the <em>Bievre<\/em>, received its name in Gallo-Roman days: both Boivre and Bievre meaning \u201cthe river of the beavers.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0The street today has a mix of older and newer buildings, but nothing remotely Gallo-Roman: one reason may be that the path was not surrounded by buildings in the Empire, but by vineyards.\u00a0 The original name of the street, before the Carmelites arrived in the 17<sup>th<\/sup> Century, was <strong>Rue des Basses-Treilles<\/strong>, or trellises, indicating this was an area of vines, most probably covered by them, looking down on the river.\u00a0 One could further surmise that this is where the grapes were grown that supplied the wine for the Governor\u2019s Palace, the luxurious villas of Limonum, and various Roman festivities on which we do not need to elaborate at the moment.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/vendanges_t.800-768x613-1.jpg?resize=373%2C297&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-471\" width=\"373\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/vendanges_t.800-768x613-1.jpg?w=768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/vendanges_t.800-768x613-1.jpg?resize=350%2C279&amp;ssl=1 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Minerve.jpeg?resize=251%2C340&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-83\" width=\"251\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Minerve.jpeg?w=738&amp;ssl=1 738w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Minerve.jpeg?resize=258%2C350&amp;ssl=1 258w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><figcaption>Minerve of Poitiers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you climb, pause at the intersection of the <strong>Rue du Moulin A Vent <\/strong>on your left: further up the hill and to your right lies the area of the old convent of the Carmelites, which in its upper section is in the process of being turned into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.francebleu.fr\/infos\/climat-environnement\/photos-bientot-un-nouveau-parc-a-poitiers-1551105960\">Poitiers\u2019 newest park<\/a>, due to open in 2021.\u00a0 Turn onto the Rue Moulin A Vent, which is named after what was purportedly the first ever windmill in France, an idea brought by Poitevin crusaders from the Middle East.\u00a0 Look into the street immediately on your left, the <strong>Rue Paul Bert <\/strong>(map F).  Here, in the remnants of a Gallo-Roman villa, a landscaper planting a tree in 1902 uncovered the finest piece of Roman statuary found from Limonum, a 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century BC statue of a helmeted <em>Minerva<\/em> (corresponding to Athena in the Greek pantheon).\u00a0 This Minerva, now on display at the <strong>Sainte-Croix Museum<\/strong>, is thought to have been part of the decoration of the villa located here.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Come back to the Rue des Carmelites and follow it uphill.\u00a0 The <em>foundations of a Gallo-Roman temple<\/em> have been found below the present-day <strong>Theatre Auditorium of Poitiers<\/strong> (or TAP, map G), at the top of the street.\u00a0 Another major religious site, a large <em>Temple complex dedicated to the god Mercury<\/em>, apparently built on the site of a previous Gaul sanctuary, lay further west across the River Boivre on the cliffs, behind the train station in the Quartier de la Roche.\u00a0 Both temples would have been outside of the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> century fortified walls when they were built, and were likely destroyed during the Germanic invasion of 276 AD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"596\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Temple-de-Mercure-vestiges.jpg?resize=800%2C596&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Temple-de-Mercure-vestiges.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Temple-de-Mercure-vestiges.jpg?resize=350%2C261&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Temple-de-Mercure-vestiges.jpg?resize=768%2C572&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption>Roman artifacts from the Temple of Mercury, Poitiers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the TAP, head east along the <strong>Rue Boncenne<\/strong>.\u00a0 This will bring you back to the line of the <em>Cardo<\/em> at the <strong>Place Alphonse Petit<\/strong>.\u00a0 Here the Cardo came to the <strong>Imperial Governor\u2019s Palace<\/strong>, looking over the valley to the West and in the same location as all iterations of Poitiers\u2019 Palaces have since then.\u00a0 On the site today sits the <strong>Palais de Justice<\/strong>, the modern name for the version of the palace built by the Dukes of Aquitaine (map H).\u00a0 The Gallo-Roman Palace is referred to in some histories as the <em>Palace of the Emperor Julian<\/em>, who was the \u201cCaesar of the West\u201d based in Gaul from AD 355, and Augustus, or ruler of the Empire, from 361 until his death in 363.\u00a0 It was probably rebuilt and\/or expanded in 357, during his reign in Gaul, though there is no trace of his personally having come to Limonum.\u00a0 The Palace was built alongside the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Century defensive walls: from the <strong>Rue des Cordeliers<\/strong>, or the Square du Palais, one can get the best look in town at the old Roman fortifications \u2013 20 feet thick, and in this instance resting on a mass of stones which once formed part of a 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century temple here.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Wisigoths, who \u201cpurchased\u201d Aquitaine from the Romans in the early 5<sup>th<\/sup> century, were not great builders, this was probably the same iteration of the Palace where the Wisigothic King <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alaric_II\">Alaric II<\/a> was residing, before his <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Battle_of_Vouill%C3%A9\">fateful battle with Clovis<\/a> and the Franks in 507. Ruins of another large-scale villa from the Gallo-Roman period have been found alongside the site of the Palace, and may have been the residence of one of the Governor\u2019s entourage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the Palace, follow the line of the <em>Cardo<\/em> again heading south along the <strong>Rue Gambetta<\/strong>.\u00a0 To your left, or east of the Rue Gambetta, ruins of <em>a large Gallo-Roman residential and shopping complex <\/em>have been found, under where the Cordeliers shopping mall stands.\u00a0 Artisans working in the shops would have lived on the second floor, above the street level where their merchandise was displayed (map I).\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow the Rue Gambetta to the <strong>Place du Marechal-Leclerc<\/strong>, where Poitier\u2019s City Hall stands: this may have been the location of the <em>Forum<\/em> of <em>Limonum<\/em>, although this is not yet proven.&nbsp; Just East of the Place Leclerc, on today\u2019s <strong>Rue Puygarreau<\/strong>, stood a large <em>domus<\/em>, or villa, with hanging gardens, excavated in 1998.&nbsp; Further east, where the towers of the Cathedral now stand, there was another Temple \u2013 the first Christian cathedral, built probably in the 4<sup>th<\/sup> Century, stood closer to the Baptistery than it does today, and a later cathedral appropriated the site of the Gallo-Roman Temple (as was often the case in the days of the early church).&nbsp; A post-walk detour in this direction to the excellent <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.poitiers.fr\/c__231_977__Accueil_musee_Sainte_Croix.html\">Mus\u00e9e Sainte-Croix<\/a><\/strong> (#3 Rue Jean-Jaures) will allow one to see the extensive Gallo-Roman art collection \u2013 statues, stelae and architectural fragments &#8212; accumulated by archaeologists at Limonum and the across the region over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The line of the <em>Cardo<\/em> proceeds south of the Forum\/ Place Leclerc, along the Rue Magenta, to the last stop on our walk, and where stood the most impressive and magnificent monument of Roman Aquitaine,<em> Limonum\u2019s<\/em> great <strong>Arena<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"573\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01_gaule-poitiers-limonum-pictonum-jc-golvin_573.jpg?resize=1020%2C573&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01_gaule-poitiers-limonum-pictonum-jc-golvin_573.jpg?w=1020&amp;ssl=1 1020w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01_gaule-poitiers-limonum-pictonum-jc-golvin_573.jpg?resize=350%2C197&amp;ssl=1 350w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/01_gaule-poitiers-limonum-pictonum-jc-golvin_573.jpg?resize=768%2C431&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/><figcaption>The Great Arena of Limonum; reconstitution by J.C. Golvin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though estimated figures for the Arena of Limonum\u2019s seating capacity vary, it held at least 20,000 and possibly as many as 50,000, and appears to have been larger than any other Arena constructed in Gaul \u2013 possibly even larger than any other in the Empire than the Colosseum itself.&nbsp;&nbsp; It was built in the first half of the 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century AD, at the southern edge of the city, and measured some 500 feet by 400 feet: larger than most NFL stadiums today.&nbsp; Modern reconstructions show some five different levels of seats rising above the center arena, with two levels of arches along the outside.&nbsp; Sitting near the southern edge of the Plateau, with the ground sloping away beyond it, the tall walls of the Arena could probably be seen from many miles away, an imposing symbol of the Empire.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/pa00105584-arenes-1.jpg?resize=224%2C326&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-243\" width=\"224\" height=\"326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/pa00105584-arenes-1.jpg?w=412&amp;ssl=1 412w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/pa00105584-arenes-1.jpg?resize=241%2C350&amp;ssl=1 241w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><figcaption>Rue Bourcani, archway of the Arena<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The urban modernization fever of the 19<sup>th<\/sup> Century, which swept Poitiers much as it did Paris, led regrettably to the destruction of the Arena ruins.\u00a0 If you turn right into the <strong>Rue Bourcani<\/strong> (map J), you can see the few remaining ruins of the Arena\u2019s walls along the street.\u00a0 The history of the Rue Bourcani remained of interest beyond the days of Rome and the Arena: it went from a street of spectacles, to a \u201cStreet of Miracles\u201d (Read more about the past of the Rue Bourcani in our tale of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=186\">Where Miracles Occurred<\/a>&#8220;).\u00a0   Walk the Rue Bourcani and its continuation, the <strong>Rue du Petit Bonneveau<\/strong>, which form a semi-circle tracing one half of the Arena walls, then continue to the <strong>Rue des Arenes Romaines<\/strong> on the other side of the Rue Magenta, which forms the other part of the circle.\u00a0 Walking these streets will give you a sense of the expansiveness of the monument, and bring your tour of Limonum to a conclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of interest before you depart, the limit of Limonum, in its unwalled 1<sup>st<\/sup> Century form, would have been near here.&nbsp; At the city entry stood a <em>Triumphal Arch<\/em>, like the one which still stands at Orange. &nbsp;Some fragments of the Limonum Triumphal Arch have survived and are on display in the museum, notably representations of boats (the Atlantic Coast was then much closer to Limonum, as what is today the Marais Poitevin was then a large, and navigable, bay).&nbsp; Another Triumphal Arch apparently stood just northwest of the Arena, at today\u2019s #37, <strong>Rue Carnot<\/strong>.&nbsp; It is possible that this was on the site of an earlier version of the Governor\u2019s Palace, referred to in some texts as the <em>Palace of the Emperor Gallien<\/em>, which would imply it was built around AD 260, before the construction of the defensive walls, and then destroyed in the invasion of 276.&nbsp; The <em>main market of Limonum <\/em>also seems to have been located along the Rue Carnot, east of the Palace of Gallien.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continuing out of the city, one would have encountered the largest <strong><em>necropole<\/em><\/strong>, or burying ground of Limonum.&nbsp; Here in the 4<sup>th<\/sup> Century, along the old road to Burdigala (Bordeaux), Saint Hilaire would be buried, and the church which bears his name, <strong>Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand<\/strong>, was built to commemorate the Saint, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tourisme-vienne.com\/en\/activite\/249\/glise-saint-hilaire-le-grand\">where it still stands today in its rebuilt state<\/a>.&nbsp; The lovely <strong>Parc Blossac<\/strong> is built on part of the ancient cemetery.&nbsp; The location of the burial ground followed Roman custom of not burying the dead within a city, but always just outside the city walls (when walls there were) alongside roadways.&nbsp; Five more burial grounds have been uncovered around Limonum, the second largest of which lies on the plateau east of the Clain, along what was the road to Avaricum (Bourges) and onwards to Rome.&nbsp; These necropolises were not always quiet: on the <em>Parentalia<\/em>, or \u201cdays of the dead\u201d in mid-February, the tombs were cleaned, embellished with flowers or other decorations, and offerings of wine and salt were made to the deceased.&nbsp; On the <em>Parentatio<\/em>, the anniversary of either the death or the burial of an ancestor, a whole family would gather at the tomb to eat and drink with the deceased, and to make offerings.&nbsp; The tombs of Gallo-Roman Limonum are no longer in evidence, but certainly if you\u2019ve followed the trail of Poitiers\u2019 1<sup>st<\/sup>-4<sup>th<\/sup> century inhabitants along with us, a drink is certainly in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those wanting to learn more about life in Limonum, the archaeological research agency INRAP produced an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inrap.fr\/sites\/inrap.fr\/files\/atoms\/files\/memoire-fouilles_poitiers-antique_2014.pdf\">excellent illustrated summary of recent archaeological findings<\/a> in 2014, which is available online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1iRBVBNfYhCye0hR0PR4kbmi2I2NBkZGS\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A guided walk through Limonum, as Poitiers was known by the Romans &#8212; arguably the most important city in Western Gaul during the first three centuries of the Common Era.&nbsp; Find where the baths, Imperial Palace, villas, main streets, and fortifications of the Gallo-Roman city were, and walk the outline of one of Gaul&#8217;s largest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Touring Limonum - Poitiers History Walks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/poitiershistorywalks.com\/?page_id=235\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Touring Limonum - Poitiers History Walks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A guided walk through Limonum, as Poitiers was known by the Romans &#8212; 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