Glanum
Encyclopedia
Glanum was an oppidum
, or fortified town, founded by a Celto-Ligurian people called the Salyens in the 6th century B.C.,. It was known for the healing power of its spring. It became a Roman
city in Provence
until its abandonment in 260 A.D.. It is located on the flanks of the Alpilles
, a range of mountains in the Bouches-du-Rhône
département, about 20 km (12.4 mi) south of the modern city of Avignon
, and a kilometre south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
. It is particularly known for two well-preserved Roman monuments of the 1st century B.C., known as les Antiques, a mausoleum and a triumphal arch
. the oldest one in France, located at the site.
, built a rampart of stones on the peaks that surrounded the valley of Notre_Dame-de-Laval, and constructed an oppidum
, or town, around the spring in the valley, which was known for its healing powers. A shrine was built at the spring to Glanis
, a Celtic god. The town grew, and a second wall was built in the 2nd century.
The town had a strong Celtic identity, shown by the names of the residents (Vrittakos, Eporix, Litumaros) by the names of the local gods (Glanis and his companions, the Glanicae, (similar to the Roman Matres
); and the goddesses Rosmerta
and Epona
); by the statues and pottery; by the customs, such as displaying the severed heads of enemies at the city gate; and by the cooking utensils found in the ruins, which showed that the people of Glanis boiled their food in pots, rather than frying it in pans like other Mediterranean tribes.
The people of Glanum were in early contact with the Greek colony of Marseille
, which had been founded in about 600 B.C. The contact influenced the architecture and art of Glanum- villas were built in the Hellenic style. But by the 2nd century there conflicts and wars between the Salyens and the Greeks of Marseille. The Greeks of Marseille, not having a powerful army, called upon the assistance of their Roman allies. In 125 B.C. the Salyens were defeated by the army of the Roman consul Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, and the following year decisively defeated by C. Sextus Calvinus. Many of the old monuments of Glanum were destroyed,
Despite the defeat, the town prospered again, thanks to the attraction of the healing spring. The city produced its own silver coins and built new monuments. The prosperity lasted until 90 B.C. when the Salyens again rebelled against Rome. The rebellion was crushed again, this time by the Consul Caecilius, and the public buildings of Glanum were again destroyed. dismantled, and replaced by more modest structures. I
captured Marseille, and after a period of destructive civil wars, the Romanization of Provence and Glanum began.
In 27 B.C. the Emperor Augustus created the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis
, and in this province Glanum was given the title of Oppidum Latinum, which gave residents the civil and political status of citizens of Rome. A triumphal arch was built outside the town between 10 and 25 B.C., near the end of the reign of Augustus, the first such arch to be built in Gaul, as well as an impressive mausoleum of the Julii family, both still standing.
In the 1st century B.C., under the Romans, the city built a new forum, temples, and a curved stone arch dam, Glanum Dam
, the oldest known dam of its kind., and an aqueduct, which supplied water for the fountains and Roman baths in the town.
Glanum was not as prosperous as the Roman colonies of Arles
, Avignon and Cavaillon, nor was it fortunate enough to be on the major Roman road of the colony, the Via Domitian, but in the 2nd century A.D. it was wealthy enough to build impressive shrines to the Emperors, to enlarge the forum
, and to have extensive baths
and other public buildings clad in marble.
in 260 A.D., and was subsequently abandoned, its inhabitants moving a short distance north into the plain to found a city that later was named Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
.
After its abandonment Glanum became a source of stone and other building materials for Saint-Remy. Since the Roman system of drains and sewers was not maintained, the ruins were often flooded and covered with mud and sediment.
The mausoleum and triumphal arch, together known as "Les Antiques," were famous, and were visited by King Charles IX, who had the surroundings cleaned up and maintained. Some excavations were made around the monuments as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, finding sculptures and coins, and by the marquis de Lagoy in the Vallons-de-Notre-Dame in the 19th century.
The first systematic excavations began in 1921, directed by the architect of historic monuments, Jules Foremigé. From 1921 until 1941, the archeologist Pierre LeBrun worked on the site, discovering the baths, the basilica, and the residences of the northern town. From 1928 to 1933, Henri Roland (1887–1970) worked on the Iron Age
sanctuary, to the south. From 1942 until 1969, Rolland took over the work and excavated the area from the forum to the sanctuary. The objects he discovered are on display today at the hotel de Sade in the Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
New excavation and exploration work began in 1982, devoted mainly to preservation of the site, and to exploring beneath sites already discovered for older works.
The Mausoleum of the Julii, located on the north side of the city just outside the city entrance, next to the to the triumphal arch, dates to about 40 B.C, and is one of the best preserved mausoleums in the Roman world.
A dedication is carved on the architrave
of the building facing the old Roman road, which reads:
It is believed that the mausoleum was the tomb of the mother and father of the three Julii brothers, and that the father, for military or civil service, received Roman citizenship and the privilege of bearing the name of the Julii, one of the most distinguished families in Rome.
The mausoleum is built in three stages. The upper stage, or tholos
, is a circular chapel with Corinthian columns. It contains two statues wearing togas, presumeably the father and grandfather of the Julii. (The heads of the statues were lost at an earlier date, and replaced in the 18th century). The conical roof is decorated with carved fishscales, traditional for Roman mausoleums, The frieze beneath the conical roof is decorated with a rinceau featuring carvings of acanthus
leaves, used in Roman mortuary architecture to represent eternal rebirth.
The middle stage, or quadrifons, is an arch with four bays. The archivoltes, or curved bands of decoration on the tops of the arches, also have acanthus leaves. At the top of each arch is the carved head of a gorgon
, the traditional protector of Roman tombs.
The frieze at the top of the quadrifons is decorated with carvings of tritons, carrying the disk of the sun, and of sea monsters.
The lowest part of the mausoleum is decorated with carved garlands of vegetation, theater masks and cupids or puti, and with mythical or legendary scenes.
The triumphal arch stood just outside the northern gate of the city, and was the visible symbol of Roman power and authority. It was built near the end of the reign of Augustus Caesar (who died in 14 A.D.) . The upper portion of the arch, including the inscription, are missing.
The sculptures decorating the arch illustrated both the civilization of Rome and what happened to the enemies of Rome.
The earliest monuments discovered in Glanum were built by the Salyens, and were strongly influenced by the Hellenic style of the nearby Greek colony of Marseille. period (2nd-beginning of the 1st century B.C.). They included a large building around trapezoidal peristyle, or courtyard surrounded by columns; and a sacred well, or dromos
; next to a small temple in the Tuscan
style.
's fantasy
novel Ancient Echoes, Glanum is a sentient, living, moving city which eventually settles at its present site in Provence.
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...
, or fortified town, founded by a Celto-Ligurian people called the Salyens in the 6th century B.C.,. It was known for the healing power of its spring. It became a Roman
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....
city in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
until its abandonment in 260 A.D.. It is located on the flanks of the Alpilles
Alpilles
The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon at approximately .-Geography:The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range...
, a range of mountains in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
département, about 20 km (12.4 mi) south of the modern city of Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, and a kilometre south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
. It is particularly known for two well-preserved Roman monuments of the 1st century B.C., known as les Antiques, a mausoleum and a triumphal arch
Triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
. the oldest one in France, located at the site.
The Celto-Ligurian Oppidum
Between the 4h and 2nd centuries B.C., the Salyens, the largest of the Celto-Ligurian tribes in ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, built a rampart of stones on the peaks that surrounded the valley of Notre_Dame-de-Laval, and constructed an 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...
, or town, around the spring in the valley, which was known for its healing powers. A shrine was built at the spring to Glanis
Glanis
Glanis was a Gaulish god associated with a healing spring at the town of Glanum in the Alpilles mountains of Provence in southern France. There are cisterns at the site of the springs, where pilgrims may have bathed. Near one of them an alter to Glanis and the Glanicae was set up...
, a Celtic god. The town grew, and a second wall was built in the 2nd century.
The town had a strong Celtic identity, shown by the names of the residents (Vrittakos, Eporix, Litumaros) by the names of the local gods (Glanis and his companions, the Glanicae, (similar to the Roman Matres
Matres
The Matres and Matrones were female deities venerated in North-West Europe from the 1st to the 5th century AD...
); and the goddesses Rosmerta
Rosmerta
In Gallo-Roman religion, Rosmerta was a goddess of fertility and abundance, her attributes being those of plenty such as the cornucopia. Rosmerta is attested by statues, and by inscriptions...
and Epona
Epona
In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures suggested that the goddess and her horses were leaders of the...
); by the statues and pottery; by the customs, such as displaying the severed heads of enemies at the city gate; and by the cooking utensils found in the ruins, which showed that the people of Glanis boiled their food in pots, rather than frying it in pans like other Mediterranean tribes.
The people of Glanum were in early contact with the Greek colony of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, which had been founded in about 600 B.C. The contact influenced the architecture and art of Glanum- villas were built in the Hellenic style. But by the 2nd century there conflicts and wars between the Salyens and the Greeks of Marseille. The Greeks of Marseille, not having a powerful army, called upon the assistance of their Roman allies. In 125 B.C. the Salyens were defeated by the army of the Roman consul Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, and the following year decisively defeated by C. Sextus Calvinus. Many of the old monuments of Glanum were destroyed,
Despite the defeat, the town prospered again, thanks to the attraction of the healing spring. The city produced its own silver coins and built new monuments. The prosperity lasted until 90 B.C. when the Salyens again rebelled against Rome. The rebellion was crushed again, this time by the Consul Caecilius, and the public buildings of Glanum were again destroyed. dismantled, and replaced by more modest structures. I
The Roman Town
In 49 B.C. Julius CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
captured Marseille, and after a period of destructive civil wars, the Romanization of Provence and Glanum began.
In 27 B.C. the Emperor Augustus created the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
, and in this province Glanum was given the title of Oppidum Latinum, which gave residents the civil and political status of citizens of Rome. A triumphal arch was built outside the town between 10 and 25 B.C., near the end of the reign of Augustus, the first such arch to be built in Gaul, as well as an impressive mausoleum of the Julii family, both still standing.
In the 1st century B.C., under the Romans, the city built a new forum, temples, and a curved stone arch dam, Glanum Dam
Glanum Dam
The Glanum Dam, also known as the Vallon de Baume dam, was a Roman arch dam built to supply water to the Roman town of Glanum, the remains of which stand outside the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in south-west France. It was situated south of Glanum, in a gorge that cut into the hills of Les...
, the oldest known dam of its kind., and an aqueduct, which supplied water for the fountains and Roman baths in the town.
Glanum was not as prosperous as the Roman colonies of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, Avignon and Cavaillon, nor was it fortunate enough to be on the major Roman road of the colony, the Via Domitian, but in the 2nd century A.D. it was wealthy enough to build impressive shrines to the Emperors, to enlarge the forum
Forum (Roman)
A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...
, and to have extensive baths
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
and other public buildings clad in marble.
Destruction, Rediscovery and Excavation
Glanum did not survive the collapse of the Roman Empire. The town was overrun and destroyed by the AlamanniAlamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
in 260 A.D., and was subsequently abandoned, its inhabitants moving a short distance north into the plain to found a city that later was named Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
.
After its abandonment Glanum became a source of stone and other building materials for Saint-Remy. Since the Roman system of drains and sewers was not maintained, the ruins were often flooded and covered with mud and sediment.
The mausoleum and triumphal arch, together known as "Les Antiques," were famous, and were visited by King Charles IX, who had the surroundings cleaned up and maintained. Some excavations were made around the monuments as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, finding sculptures and coins, and by the marquis de Lagoy in the Vallons-de-Notre-Dame in the 19th century.
The first systematic excavations began in 1921, directed by the architect of historic monuments, Jules Foremigé. From 1921 until 1941, the archeologist Pierre LeBrun worked on the site, discovering the baths, the basilica, and the residences of the northern town. From 1928 to 1933, Henri Roland (1887–1970) worked on the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
sanctuary, to the south. From 1942 until 1969, Rolland took over the work and excavated the area from the forum to the sanctuary. The objects he discovered are on display today at the hotel de Sade in the Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
New excavation and exploration work began in 1982, devoted mainly to preservation of the site, and to exploring beneath sites already discovered for older works.
The Mausoleum of the Julii
A dedication is carved on the architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
of the building facing the old Roman road, which reads:
SEX · M · L · IVLIEI · C · F · PARENTIBVS · SVEIS
Sextius, Marcus and Lucius Julius, sons of Gaius, to their forebearsAncestorAn ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
It is believed that the mausoleum was the tomb of the mother and father of the three Julii brothers, and that the father, for military or civil service, received Roman citizenship and the privilege of bearing the name of the Julii, one of the most distinguished families in Rome.
The mausoleum is built in three stages. The upper stage, or tholos
Tholos
Τholos is the name given to several Ancient Greek structures and buildings:**The Tholos at Athens was the building which housed the Prytaneion, or seat of government, in ancient Athens...
, is a circular chapel with Corinthian columns. It contains two statues wearing togas, presumeably the father and grandfather of the Julii. (The heads of the statues were lost at an earlier date, and replaced in the 18th century). The conical roof is decorated with carved fishscales, traditional for Roman mausoleums, The frieze beneath the conical roof is decorated with a rinceau featuring carvings of acanthus
Acanthus
Acanthus , in its feminine form acantha , is the Latinised form of the ancient Greek word acanthos or akanthos, referring to the Acanthus plant. It can also be used as the prefix acantho-, meaning "thorny"...
leaves, used in Roman mortuary architecture to represent eternal rebirth.
The middle stage, or quadrifons, is an arch with four bays. The archivoltes, or curved bands of decoration on the tops of the arches, also have acanthus leaves. At the top of each arch is the carved head of a gorgon
Gorgon
In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female creature. The name derives from the Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful." While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a...
, the traditional protector of Roman tombs.
The frieze at the top of the quadrifons is decorated with carvings of tritons, carrying the disk of the sun, and of sea monsters.
The lowest part of the mausoleum is decorated with carved garlands of vegetation, theater masks and cupids or puti, and with mythical or legendary scenes.
- The north face- a battle of horsemen, and a winged victory carries a trophy.
- The east face.- an infantryman unhorses an Amazon warrior, a warrior takes trophies from a dead enemy, and the figure of Fame recites the story of the battle to a man and woman. The scene may be inspired by the AmazonomachyAmazonomachyAn Amazonomachy was a portrayal of legendary battle between Greeks and Amazons...
, the mythical war between the GreeksGreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and the AmazonsAmazonsThe Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
. - the west face- a scene from the IliadIliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and Trojan WarTrojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, the Greeks and Trojans fighting for the body of PatroclusPatroclusIn Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos , was the son of Menoetius, grandson of Actor, King of Opus, and was Achilles' beloved comrade and brother-in-arms....
. - the south face- Cavaliers hunt for wild boar in a forest. One cavalier is wounded and dying in the arms of a companion. This may represent the legend of the hunt for the Calydonian BoarCalydonian BoarThe Calydonian Boar is one of the monsters of Greek mythology that had to be overcome by heroes of the Olympian age. Sent by Artemis to ravage the region of Calydon in Aetolia because its king failed to honor her in his rites to the gods, it was killed in the Calydonian Hunt, in which many male...
, conducted by MeleagerMeleagerIn Greek mythology, Meleager was a hero venerated in his temenos at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer....
, with Castor and Pollux shown on horseback.
The Triumphal Arch of Glanum
The sculptures decorating the arch illustrated both the civilization of Rome and what happened to the enemies of Rome.
- the panel to the right of the entrance shows a female figure seated on a pile of weapons, and a Gaullish prisoner with his hands tied behind him.
- The panel to the left shows another prisoner in a Gaullish cloak, with a smaller man, wearing his cloak in the Roman style, placing his hand on the shoulder of the prisoner.
- On the reverse side of the arch are sculptures of two more pairs of Gaullish prisoners.
The Monumental Center
Glanum was laid out on north-south axis through the valley of Notre-Dame-du-Vallon. At the northern end was the residential quarter, with Roman baths. At the southern end was the sacred quarter, with the spring and grotto. In the center was the monumental quarter, the site of the forum and public buildings.The earliest monuments discovered in Glanum were built by the Salyens, and were strongly influenced by the Hellenic style of the nearby Greek colony of Marseille. period (2nd-beginning of the 1st century B.C.). They included a large building around trapezoidal peristyle, or courtyard surrounded by columns; and a sacred well, or dromos
Dromos
Dromos can refer to:* the cursus publicus, the public road system of the Roman and Byzantine empires;* Dromos in architecture, an entrance passage;* also modes used in Greek music....
; next to a small temple in the Tuscan
Tuscan
-Linguistic phenomena:* Tuscan dialect, the ancestor of the modern Italian language* Tuscan gorgia, a sound-Creative works:* Under the Tuscan Sun * Under the Tuscan Sun -Sports cars:...
style.
- The sacred well, or dromos (end of the 2nd century B.C.. The well is It is three meters in diameter and has a stairway with thirty-seven steps which descended to the water. There is no dedication on the temple, but it probably was connected with the sacred nature of the well. The original buildings were destroyed and the well covered over during the construction of the first Roman forum on the same site during the 1st Century B.C. At the end of Antiquity the well was filled with statuary and debris from the late Roman Empire. The well has been uncovered and fragments of the walls of the temple can be seen.
- The Bouleuterion (2nd -1st centuries B.C.) was a meeting place for notables, built in the Hellenic style, with an open space with an altar in the center surrounded by stepped rows of seats on three sides. There was a portico with three columns at one end. The northern part of the Bouleuterion was cut off during Roman times by the construction of the Twin Temples, but the space was preserved and used as a Roman CuriaCuriaA curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
.
- The Hellenic Fountain. A small circular stone basin from the period of Greek influence, (2nd-1st centuries B.C.), probably a fountain, stands next to the road. This is one of the oldest fountains discovered in France.
The First Roman Forum
The first Roman forum in Glanum was built around 20 B.C., at about the time that Glanum was given the title of oppidum latimum.- The Twin Temples. The main features of the first forum were two CorinthianCorinthian orderThe Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
temples, identical in style but one larger than the other, enclosed on three sides by a peribole, or arcade of columns. Three columns, and a part of the facade, in the style of the early years of the reign of the Emperor AugustusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, have been restored and are standing.
- The BasilicaBasilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
. The first forum had a modest basilica, a public hall for transacting business and legal affairs, with two naves. Only the north corner of the east portico of this building still exists.
- The Monumental Fountain. A monumental fountain, dating to about 20 B.C, was located on the southern end of the forum. It consisted of a rectangular basin and a semi-circular apse with corinthian columns, which probably sheltered a statue. The fountain was supplied with water by an aqueduct from the nearby Roman dam.
The Second Roman Forum
The second Roman forum, built between the 1st and 3rd centuries A.D., was the central market, business place, place of justice and site of official religious rituals. A large open space was enclosed on two sides by porticos of columns. On the southern side was a semi-circular excedre, while on the north was the basilica, the large hall that was the palace of justice and site of the government. The basilica was 47 by 24 meters in size, supported by 24 large columns. The facade has disappeared, but the back wall and side walls still exist. Behind the basilica was the curia, where a statue of the Emperor was placed in a niche in the wall. In the center was a square room which served as a tribunal and as the chapel of the cult of the Emperor.The Residential Quarter and the Roman Baths
The northern part of Glanum, at the bottom of the sloping site, was the residential quarter, the site of villas and of the extensive Roman baths. The baths were the center of social life, and helped serve to Romanize the local population.- The Roman baths were built in about 75 B.C.. Later, during the reign of Lucius Verus (161-169 A.D.) they were rebuilt and the stone was clad with marble. Modest in size, they consisted of a pelastre, an open-air exercise area surrounded by an arcade of columns; a hall with cold baths; and two halls heated by a hypercaust, by which hot air was circulated under the rooms through brick channels. One was a hot air sweating room or laconicumLaconicumLaconicum , the dry sweating room of the Roman thermae, contiguous to the caldarium or hot room. The name was given to it as being the only form of warm bath that the Spartans admitted...
; and the other was a caldariumCaldariumright|thumb|230px|Caldarium from the Roman Baths at [[Bath, England]]. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor....
, or hall with hot baths, including a masonry bathing pool. On the south, next to th pelastre, was a large swimming pool. Water was fed into the pool through the mouth of a stone theatrical mask.
- Hellenistic residences. The quarter contains the ruins of several villas and residences in the Greek style, pre-dating the Roman city. Between the baths and the forum was a house with a Doric peristylePeristyleIn Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
, and another, called the House of Capricorn, with two surviving sections of mosaic floors, one section featuring a capricornCapricornCapricorn may refer to:* Capricornus, one of the constellations of the zodiac** Capricorn * Capricorn , a manga series created by Johji Manabe* Capricorn , Jay Chou's 9th studio album...
surrounded by four dolphins.
- The Market and the Temple of Cybele. Near the residences was a pre-Roman marketplace, surrounded by doric columns, with four small shops on the west side. In Roman times half of the marketplace as transformed into a small temple to the Bon Dea, a goddess of the oracle, and later to CybeleCybeleCybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
. In springtime the priestesses of Cybele brought a sacred pine into the sanctuary, symbolizing the god AtysAtysAtys may mean:*Atys was a king of Alba Longa.*Atys was an early king of Lydia, then referred to as Maeonia, and was the father of Lydus.*Atys son of Croesus was the son of the later King Croesus of Lydia....
. In the temple there was also an altar dedicated to the priestress Loreia, with a stone carving of the ears of the goddess. so she could hear prayers.
- The House of Antes was built in the style of Greek houses around the Mediterranean. A two story house with three wings and a portico of Toscan columns, built around a small basin of water, fed by rainwater from the roof, which chanelled the water into a cistern, then into the drains which ran under the pavement of the street.
- The House of Atys (2nd century B.C.) was named for the castrated lover of Cybele, because of a marble relief of Atys that was found in the ruins. It had an atrium with a shallow basin, or impluviumImpluviumThe impluvium is the sunken part of the atrium in a Greek or Roman house . Designed to carry away the rainwater coming through the compluvium of the roof, it is usually made of marble and placed about 30 cm below the floor of the atrium.The name is also used for a type of dwelling typical of...
, in the center. It had a well with a curbstone lip, stone benches, and was richly built. It was probably a schola, a reception hall for the college of Dendrophores, associated with the neighboring temple.
The Valley of the Sacred Spring
The sacred spring of Glanum is located at the southern and highest part of the town. The valley was closed by a stone wall, built at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st century B.C.. This wall had a gate large enough for chariots, a square tower, and a smaller gate for pedestrians. To the left and right of the gate are vestiges of the older walls, dating between the 6th and 3rd century B.C., making a rampart 16 meters thick.- The Doric Portico. Just inside the gate was a building with a portico of doricDoricDoric may refer to:* Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode* Doric dialect...
columns. Vestiges remain of the original structure from the 2nd to 1st century B.C.. It was rebuilt in about 40 B.C., and parts of the columns and portico from this period have been restored. Inside the building were small basins fed by water conduits in the back wall, suggesting that this building was a place where pilgrims to the spring would ritually wash and purify themselves.
- The Temple of Valetudo. This small temple was dedicated to Valetudo, the Roman goddess of health. The inscription indicates that it was built by Agrippa, the son-in-law of the future Emperor Augustus. The Corinthian columns are in the style of the late Roman Republic; it probably dates to Agrippa's first voyage to Gaul in 39 B.C.
- The sacred spring. The spring and its healing powers were the basis of the reputation and wealth of the town. Originally it was simply a basin carved into the rock. In the 2nd century B.C. it was covered by a stone building with a decorative facade of stones in a fishscale pattern. A stone stairway led from the spring up to the top of the nearby hill. In the 1st century A.D. the Roman legionnaire M. Licinius Verecundus built an altar to the right of stairway, dedicated to the god Glanis, the Glannicae, and Fortuna Redux, the goddess responsible for the safe return of those far from home. The inscription reads: "To the god Glanis, and the Glanicae, and to Fortuna Redux: Marcus Licinius Verecundus, of the tribe Claudia (an electoral district in Rome), veteran of the XXI legion Rapaces (Rapaces, or predators, was the nickname of the XXI legion, which was serving at the time in Germany.).- has accomplished his vow with gratitude and good faith."
- The chapel of Hercules. The remains of a small chapel devoted to Hercules, the guardian of springs, is located near the spring. Against the walls the archeologist Henri Roman discovered six altars to Hercules, and the torso of a large statue of Hercules, 1.3 meters high, holding a vase of water, evidently the water of the Glanum spring. The inscription on the base of the statue indicated that it was placed in gratitude for the safe return of the tribune C. Licinius Macer, and the centurions and soldiers from Glanum from a campaign during the 2nd century A.D..
Glanum in popular culture
In Robert HoldstockRobert Holdstock
Robert Paul Holdstock was an English novelist and author best known for his works of Celtic, Nordic, Gothic and Pictish fantasy literature, predominantly in the fantasy subgenre of mythic fiction....
's fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel Ancient Echoes, Glanum is a sentient, living, moving city which eventually settles at its present site in Provence.
External links
- Official tourist office of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, both in French and in English. Contains information on Glanum.
- Locator map of Glanum (Michelin)
- Livius.org: Glanum (St.Rémy-de-Provence)