La Citadelle - Montcaret

Since it is so close to La Citadelle, we visit Montcaret regularly. It has a good garden centre where we have bought some well-grown silver birch trees, some excellent antique dealers, from one of whom we bought a glass-fronted cherry-wood bookcase, and a cabinet maker.

We made a trip to what must have been the smallest Foire Pour Tous in France, at the start of June, and at last this autumn we visited the Roman site that had been recommended to us so strongly by family and friends.

The site of the remains has been continuously occupied from the establishment of the Romans in Gaul in the first century before Christ until the present day. It consists of the stunning range of mosaic floors shown here, and two main Roman complexes - the largest Roman reception suite anywhere in the world, and a baths complex. The long-term importance of this area is shown by the extraordinary density of chateaux.

This picture shows the foundations of the Roman reception hall complex, with the visitors' centre behind.

Building started in the first century B.C. The complex was slightly damaged in the first barbarian invasion between 275 and 277 A.D. Rebuilding was started immediately. The majority of the remains are from the fourth century, and these were damaged again in the second barbarian invasion of 407 A.D.

To this day there seems to be some controversy about whether the remains are of a grand villa, or an important public thermal baths complex.

The barbarian invaders, principally Visigoths and Francs, were Christians, and there was a continuity of use of the site from the Roman villa to use as a burial ground: the site is dotted with many medieval tombs.

The tombs outside have surrounds and covers. The tombs dug through the dining room floors have their skeletons!

When a state of peace was (briefly) re-established in the 11th century, Benedictine monks built on the site, using materials mined from the villa. Their priory was partially destroyed in the 12th Century during the Wars of Religions by roving bands of Huguenot militants under Arnaud de Clermont. When the Benedictines abandoned the site a few years later, the importance of Montcaret faded. The Church of Saint-Pierre has now been fully restored by les Monuments Historiques, which runs the excellent Visitors' Centre. The earliest parts of the church were built in the Merovingian period during the 6th and 7th centuries.

The reception suite consist of of a huge reception room 17 metres long by 16 metres wide (shown above), fully centrally heated and air-conditioned, and four-lobed dining room.

The shape of the dining room is designed to take the reclining beds fashionable for dining at that time.

It is surrounded by a very well-preserved set of tiled drains, which are viewed through a glass walkway.

Each panel of the floor of the swimming pool has a different scene of sea creatures (some details are shown below).

Beyond the well preserved pool is a tepid pool and a hot bath. These latter two extend below the road and private gardens beyond, but the archeologists cannot obtain permission to excavate these; nevertheless, the patterns of their mosaic floors are described in the guidebooks.