Cryptoportiques d’Arles: Roman Underground Galleries of the Forum
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Civic
- Remains
- Cryptoporticus
History
Cryptoportiques d’Arles are Roman underground galleries in France, built around 30–20 BC alongside the Roman forum of Arles. A cryptoporticus is a covered underground or partly underground passage, generally used to support an architectural complex or provide circulation space.
The galleries were constructed at the same time as the forum, the principal public center of a Roman town, where civic, political, religious, and commercial activities took place. Their position beside the forum connects them directly with the organization of Arles as a Roman urban center.
The Cryptoportiques form part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments, inscribed in 1981 under criteria ii and iv. UNESCO, the United Nations agency responsible for the World Heritage program, recognizes cultural and natural sites considered to have outstanding universal value. Within the property, the Cryptoportiques are identified by code 164-003.
