LangresAndemantunnum</TITLEgrijs.gif </HEAD> <BODY background="/Transformation/grijs.gif" LINK="#0000ff" VLINK="#800080"> <h1><em>Andemantunnum</em>-Langres, capital of the <em>civitas Lingonum</em></h1> <p>See this text in <a href="langresandemantunnum.htm"> <img src="../../../home/de.gif" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a></p> <h2><br> Foundation and structure</h2> <p>The Gallic tribe of the Lingones settled in Burgundy west of the Saône and excavation has proved the existence of a Celtic predecessor settlement to the Roman town of Langres. The civitas was created during the Augustan period but, as only a few large buildings are known, little can be said about the development of the urban fabric</p> <h2><br> Celtic oppidum</h2> <p>Several spots with Celtic finds are known within the Roman occupied area of Langres. These mostly lie to the north and south of a postulated éperon barrée defence, which is thought to underlie the medieval city wall. No associated house plans are known to date, but a larger area with pits (Marché Couvert) dates to 120/100BC.<br> <br> <a href="langres001_engl.htm"> <img src="langres001a.jpg" width="100" height="123" border="0" align="absbottom"></a> Distribution of the LaTène-period features</p> <h2><br> The town and its structure</h2> <p>The distribution of Roman period finds suggests an occupied area of c. 70ha. Research into the street plan remains in its infancy, but the late-Roman city wall was built at the end of the 3<sup>rd</sup> century. <br> <a href="langres002_engl.htm"><br> <img src="langres002a.jpg" width="100" height="154" border="0" align="absbottom"></a> Plan of <em>Andamentunnum</em>-Langres. Plan with reconstructed street grid.</p> <h2><br> Public buildings and infrastructure</h2> <p>Few public buildings are known, but the town's centre is thought to underlie the Cathedral of Saint-Mammès and a substantial wall, suggestive of a large building, was found in the church of St. Lévêque.</p> <p>On the eastern side of the, north-south oriented, main road, a complex with large courtyard and flanking rooms was excavated. This was probably a forum, although it is unlikely to have been the city's main forum. Its initial construction is dated to the first half of the 1<sup>st</sup> century AD and immediately to the west lay a large building with massive foundations (c.20 x 12m), which is interpreted as a temple. <br> <a href="langres003_engl.htm"><br> <img src="langres003a.jpg" width="100" height="134" border="0" align="absbottom"></a> Roman buildings at the Place des Etats-Unis</p> <p><br> A large gate (Porte Romaine) with two passages, five engaged pillars and a decorative frieze can be seen integrated into the later city wall and a second was dismantled in the 19<sup>th </sup>century. Their date remains under discussion. <br> <a href="langres004_engl.htm"><br> <img src="langres004a.jpg" width="100" height="55" border="0" align="absbottom"></a> View of the Porte Romaine with reconstructions</p> <h2><br> Residential buildings</h2> <p>Knowledge of the Roman housing is limited to a few buildings, but the relatively dense distribution of mosaics suggests a comparably high standard of living over large parts of the settlement. <br> <a href="langres005_engl.htm"><br> <img src="langres005a.jpg" width="100" height="142" border="0" align="absbottom"></a> Distribution of mosaics within the Roman town</p> <p>To the west of the cathedral Celtic occupation continued into the late Augustan period, when coloured wall plaster was already in use (Marché Couvert). From about the second decade of the 1<sup>st</sup> century AD, the area was redeveloped, as attested by stone cellars and, in the early 2<sup>nd</sup> century, it was converted into a single large house, which was decorated with mosaics and wall paintings. <br> <a href="langres006_engl.htm"><br> <img src="langres006a.jpg" width="100" height="186" border="0" align="absbottom"></a> Plan of the Roman features (Marché Couvert, place du Centenaire)</p> <p>South of the public buildings at the „place des États-Unis“ the ground plans of two houses with several rooms have been excavated, which were separated from the large buildings by a street. Little is known about their building history, but wall painting is known from the late 1<sup>st</sup> century at the latest.</p> <h2><br> Water supply</h2> <p>Because of the town's altitude, aqueduct provision was difficult. The water supply issue was thus solved by the use of cisterns and wells and waste water was removed via a sewer system with collectors (place des États-Unis).</p> <p><br> <strong>Visible remains</strong><br> The only surviving Roman remains are the Porte Noire.<br> <a href="langres007_engl.htm"><br> <img src="langres007a.jpg" width="100" height="49" border="0" align="absbottom"> </a>Langres. The Porte Noir.</p> <p><strong>Museum</strong><br> Roman finds are on display in the Musée de Langres. </p> <p>Text: Thomas Schmidts <br> </p> <h2><br> Select bibliography</h2> <p>E. Frézouls, Les villes antiques de la France. 2,1. Germanie Supérieure. 1. Besançon, Dijon, Langres, Mandeure. (Strasbourg 1988) 275-421.</p> <p>M. Joly, Langres. Carte Archéologique de la Gaule, 52,2 (Paris 2001).</p> <p>M. Joly, Langres, de la ville gauloise à la ville gallo-romaine. In: La naissance de la ville dans l'antiquité (Paris 2003) 227-238.</p> <p>St. Lévêque, Le point sur l'urbanisme gallo-romain en Haute-Marne. Bulletin de la Société Archéologique Champenoise 85,1992, 333-341.</p> <p><br> </p> </BODY> </HTML>