Antiquity in Languedoc-Roussillon

Maison Carrée in Nîmes

In the 7th century BC, Greek, Etruscan and Phoenician navigators sailed the coasts of the Mediterranean. They set up trading posts at Marseille, Agde and Ampurias, traded with the Gauls who lived in simple hill forts (‘oppida’) or founded larger towns such as Ensérune, Béziers, Cessero, Sextantio, Ambrussum, Nages and Nîmes.

Excavations in the delta of the Hérault river have uncovered many treasures, now on view at the Ephèbe museum in Agde (Hérault). These bring to life the history of ancient navigation and commerce. At the museum you can see the magnificent Ephèbe of Agde, an Hellenistic bronze statue discovered in 1964.

A new Roman colony

In 125 BC, Marseilles asked for Rome’s help to fight the Salvens, an indigenous people of western Provence. This was the start of the Romans’ inexorable conquest of Gaul.

In 118 BC, the consul Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus founded the colony of Narbonne and commissioned a road, the Via Domitia (Domitian Way). This was built on the tracks of an ancient route called ‘Herculean’, because according to tradition, it was used by Hercules and also by Hannibal in his expedition against Rome. The Transalpine province became the Narbonnaise, after the name of its capital under the Emperor Augustus.

The Roman conquest brought about a transformation of the agricultural landscape by establishing a strict form of land registry, traces of which are still found in the region. Cultivation of the olive and vine spread swiftly and vineyards multiplied to supply a growing demand for wine. Compared with earlier periods, living accommodation changed radically.

Attention was given to interiors: décor (frescoes, mosaics) and comfort (sewers, heating), such as those at Le Clos de la Lombarde (Narbonne) and the Villa Saint-Clément du Montmars. Building techniques improved: lime mortar, glass for the windows, and prefabricated materials such as tiles and bricks…

The Roman builders

Great engineering works, testimony to the skill of Roman builders, can still be seen in the region: the aqueduct at Ansignan, the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct at Gabian, the bridge at Boisseron, the bridge at Ambrussum, the amphitheatres at Nîmes and Béziers and other works: the mausoleum at Lanuéjols, Pompey’s trophy at Panissars, the thermal baths at Balaruc-les-Bains.