Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine

For a long time, Reims’ history only began with Caesar and the Gallic Wars. Despite an ancient mythology claiming an origin as ancient as Rome’s, previous archaeological pieces of evidence weren’t reliable and were mainly ignored. Preventive archaeology gradually gathered data attesting to a settlem...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Robert Neiss, François Berthelot, Jean-Marc Doyen, Philippe Rollet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CNRS Éditions 2015-12-01
Series:Gallia
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/gallia/1485
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832096479409340416
author Robert Neiss
François Berthelot
Jean-Marc Doyen
Philippe Rollet
author_facet Robert Neiss
François Berthelot
Jean-Marc Doyen
Philippe Rollet
author_sort Robert Neiss
collection DOAJ
description For a long time, Reims’ history only began with Caesar and the Gallic Wars. Despite an ancient mythology claiming an origin as ancient as Rome’s, previous archaeological pieces of evidence weren’t reliable and were mainly ignored. Preventive archaeology gradually gathered data attesting to a settlement founded at least around the 2nd c. BC. The inventory of old finds even allows us to speculate on an earlier origin and to make out an evolution through large successive stages, resulting in the Augustan city and showing themselves in tangible changes in the city shape. Documents dating back to La Tene match the birth of Reims site to the organization of Remi’s territory. A vast space of an unknown function developed very early under the aegis of a sanctuary overlooking the site. Then, in the 2nd c. BC, settlements multiplied in the centre of the basin shaping the siting of the future town. Shortly before the Conquest, an oppidum precisely delineated the settlement’s boundaries, and the latter quickly grew later on. Then, the rise of the town to the position of provincial capital coincided with an ambitious new founding initiative which created an urban area of 500 ha, surrounded by a gigantic city wall of which the layout seems to recall the ancient founding of the site and shows a remarkable continuity in the land settling and in the general plan.
format Article
id doaj-art-60065fbed99a496799d233827665699c
institution Kabale University
issn 0016-4119
2109-9588
language English
publishDate 2015-12-01
publisher CNRS Éditions
record_format Article
series Gallia
spelling doaj-art-60065fbed99a496799d233827665699c2025-02-05T15:46:30ZengCNRS ÉditionsGallia0016-41192109-95882015-12-0172116117610.4000/gallia.1485Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaineRobert NeissFrançois BerthelotJean-Marc DoyenPhilippe RolletFor a long time, Reims’ history only began with Caesar and the Gallic Wars. Despite an ancient mythology claiming an origin as ancient as Rome’s, previous archaeological pieces of evidence weren’t reliable and were mainly ignored. Preventive archaeology gradually gathered data attesting to a settlement founded at least around the 2nd c. BC. The inventory of old finds even allows us to speculate on an earlier origin and to make out an evolution through large successive stages, resulting in the Augustan city and showing themselves in tangible changes in the city shape. Documents dating back to La Tene match the birth of Reims site to the organization of Remi’s territory. A vast space of an unknown function developed very early under the aegis of a sanctuary overlooking the site. Then, in the 2nd c. BC, settlements multiplied in the centre of the basin shaping the siting of the future town. Shortly before the Conquest, an oppidum precisely delineated the settlement’s boundaries, and the latter quickly grew later on. Then, the rise of the town to the position of provincial capital coincided with an ambitious new founding initiative which created an urban area of 500 ha, surrounded by a gigantic city wall of which the layout seems to recall the ancient founding of the site and shows a remarkable continuity in the land settling and in the general plan.https://journals.openedition.org/gallia/1485
spellingShingle Robert Neiss
François Berthelot
Jean-Marc Doyen
Philippe Rollet
Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine
Gallia
title Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine
title_full Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine
title_fullStr Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine
title_full_unstemmed Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine
title_short Reims/Durocortorum, cité des Rèmes : les principales étapes de la formation urbaine
title_sort reims durocortorum cite des remes les principales etapes de la formation urbaine
url https://journals.openedition.org/gallia/1485
work_keys_str_mv AT robertneiss reimsdurocortorumcitedesremeslesprincipalesetapesdelaformationurbaine
AT francoisberthelot reimsdurocortorumcitedesremeslesprincipalesetapesdelaformationurbaine
AT jeanmarcdoyen reimsdurocortorumcitedesremeslesprincipalesetapesdelaformationurbaine
AT philipperollet reimsdurocortorumcitedesremeslesprincipalesetapesdelaformationurbaine