Gallo-Roman Villa of Andilly-en-Bassigny: A Roman Rural Estate in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Villa
On this page7 sections
History
The Gallo-Roman villa of Andilly-en-Bassigny in France was a Roman rural estate built from the first century AD and occupied until the fourth century. Its Gallo-Roman character reflects the Roman-period culture of Gaul, where Roman and local traditions existed together. Located about 1.5 kilometres from a secondary Roman road linking Langres and Bourbonne-les-Bains, the estate occupied the localities of Charge-d’eau and Haies-de-la-Corbechère. The residential sector covered approximately 1.5 hectares, while the agricultural sector extended across several hectares. The visible remains belong mainly to the late third or early fourth century.
Roman estate and later burial ground
The villa combined a substantial residential area with a broad agricultural sector. Geophysical survey identified the agricultural area beyond the residential complex, helping to define the estate’s scale. The Roman occupation ended in the fourth century, after which the ruins acquired a new use during the Merovingian period. The Merovingians ruled the Frankish kingdoms from approximately the fifth to the eighth century. During the sixth and seventh centuries, a cemetery of about one hundred graves was established within the remains of the villa.
A nineteenth-century discovery at Haies-de-la-Corbechère was initially linked to the Roman estate but later proved to belong to the Merovingian cemetery. An 1832 article described a sarcophagus containing a scramasax, a single-edged early medieval sword or long knife, and a spearhead. The spearhead is held by the Museum of Langres.
Discovery and archaeological investigation
The villa was discovered and partly destroyed in 1878 during construction of the Chalindrey-Mirecourt railway. Virgile Multier, the village priest, directed the first excavation in 1894. This work exposed part of the cold-water pool and several adjoining rooms.
After a period of neglect, archaeological researchers Pierre Ballet and Thérèse Zeyer rediscovered and excavated the site during the 1960s through the Society of Natural Sciences and Archaeology of Haute-Marne, a regional learned society involved in research in the area. Their work revealed the large building and its monumental private bath complex. Volunteer research directed by Zeyer continued until 1992. Professional excavations resumed in 2007 under the heritage service of the Haute-Marne departmental council and were continuing. The remains have been classified as a historic monument in France since 1986, and the commune of Andilly-en-Bassigny is identified as their owner.
Remains
The surviving site is organized around a residential complex of about 1.5 hectares and an agricultural sector extending over several hectares. The residential area contains a monumental private bath complex with several distinct bathing spaces and an underfloor heating installation. Geophysical survey has helped identify the wider agricultural area beyond the main residential remains.
Residential complex and private baths
The private baths are among the best-preserved features of the villa. Their recorded components include a changing room, a warm room, a hot-water pool, a steam bath, and a cold-water pool. The bath buildings used a hypocaust, an ancient heating system in which hot air circulated beneath raised floors. The heating installation and the bathing areas survive as archaeological features within the residential sector.
Cold-water pool
The cold-water pool, or frigidarium, was partly exposed during the 1894 excavation. A frigidarium was the cold-water bathing room in a Roman bath complex. Several adjoining rooms were uncovered at the same time, providing part of the surviving layout of the bath area.
Merovingian cemetery
A cemetery containing approximately one hundred graves was laid out within the ruins during the sixth and seventh centuries. Its position inside the former Roman villa shows the later reuse of the surviving structures as a burial ground. The cemetery also produced a sarcophagus associated with a scramasax and a spearhead, linking the physical remains to the early medieval occupation of the site.
