Ambrussum
Encyclopedia
Ambrussum is a Roman
archaeological site in Villetelle
, Hérault
département, in southern France
.
It is close to the modern town Lunel
, between Nîmes
and Montpellier
. Ambrussum is notable for its bridge (French: Pont Ambroix
), painted by Gustave Courbet
, and for its oppidum
(fortified village, often at a higher elevation).
The site has a lower settlement (currently in the course of excavation) which was apparently abandoned due to flooding. The higher settlement was built later and within a surrounding wall including 21 towers.
The bridge was still usable in the Middle Ages
, with all 11 arches, but when painted by Courbet in 1857 only two arches were left, and one of those was lost in flooding of the Vidourle
River in 1933. A single arch remains.
The Roman road
, the Via Domitia
, visible with traces of Roman chariot tracks forming "railway tracks", leads up a hill, where ruins of habitations can be seen.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
archaeological site in Villetelle
Villetelle
Villetelle is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.The Vidourle River crosses the commune.The Gallo-Roman archaeological site of Ambrussum is located there.-External links:*...
, Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
département, in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
It is close to the modern town Lunel
Lunel
Lunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
, between Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
and Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. Ambrussum is notable for its bridge (French: Pont Ambroix
Pont Ambroix
The Pont Ambroix or Pont d'Ambrussum was a 1st century BC Roman bridge in the south of France which was part of the Via Domitia. It crossed the Vidourle at Ambrussum, between today's Gallargues-le-Montueux in the Gard department and Villetelle in the Hérault department.In the High Middle Ages, a...
), painted by Gustave Courbet
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists...
, and for its oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
(fortified village, often at a higher elevation).
The site has a lower settlement (currently in the course of excavation) which was apparently abandoned due to flooding. The higher settlement was built later and within a surrounding wall including 21 towers.
The bridge was still usable in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, with all 11 arches, but when painted by Courbet in 1857 only two arches were left, and one of those was lost in flooding of the Vidourle
Vidourle
The Vidourle is a river in southern France, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea in Le Grau-du-Roi. Its source is in the Cévennes mountains, northwest of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, at Saint-Roman-de-Codières. It flows generally southeast...
River in 1933. A single arch remains.
The Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
, the Via Domitia
Via Domitia
The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, so old that it traces the mythic route travelled by Heracles...
, visible with traces of Roman chariot tracks forming "railway tracks", leads up a hill, where ruins of habitations can be seen.
