Romans & Gauls

This morning we visit the Museé du Pays Châtillonnais in the pretty town of Châtillon-sur-Seine. Its collections cover the entire history of the region and include the astonishing Vix krater, a 6^th-century BC Greek bronze vessel discovered at the burial mound nearby. We continue to Alésia, the battle site of Caesar’s final Gallic victory, and its museum. We also view the Vercingetorix statue and then on to the Muséopark Museum and reconstructions.

We travel to Autun in the Saône Valley in the hill country of the Morvans, an unsung but lovely part of France. The mottled greys and pinks of local granite often featured in the work of artist Pierre Bonnard. Autun was one of the wealthiest towns in Roman Gaul and we will visit the impressive theatre, town walls and gates, together with fascinating remains of a large Romano-Celtic temple. We continue to Bibracte in the afternoon. One of the largest and most important hillforts of Gaul and site of Caesar’s defeat at the hands of the Helvetii tribe the climax of his first campaign in Gaul.

We begin the day at Dijon Museum, housed in the former abbey of Sainte Bénigne. Here we see the display of wooden Gallo-Roman statues found at Sources-de-la-Seine, a sanctuary associated with healing cult. The many wooden, bronze, and stone ex-votos they placed there represent the parts of the human or animal body affected by disease. Leaving the city, we travel through the Burgundy vineyards, with a spot of wine tasting on the way, to Nuits-St-Georges. Here, we visit the Roman town and temple site, and the museum.

We travel south to Lyon today stopping on the way at the charming riverside town of Chalon-sur-Saône. Once a busy Roman port, we visit the Musée Denon with its finds recovered from the River Saône. Next we visit the small town of Cluny, where in the 10^th century, monastic reform developed and took wing, extending throughout Europe. We visit the impressive remains of the Abbey, mother house of the Cluniac Order. We continue to Lyon where we will stay for the remainder of our tour.

Today is dedicated to Lyon. In antiquity its position at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône placed it on an important axis linking the Mediterranean to the future interior provinces. Here we discover the capital of the Three Gauls (Gallia Celtica, Belgica, and Aquitania) in the Gallo-Roman Museum, and the adjacent theatre and odeon. Early Christian churches and cathedral baptistery give us an insight into the importance of Lugdunum in late Roman times. The afternoon is spent exploring the aqueducts of the city, unique in the western Roman Empire for their complexity and engineering.

We spend the morning in Vienne, visiting the near complete Temple of Augustus and Livia, the theatre and other remains of this wealthy Roman town on the banks of the river Rhône. In the afternoon, we cross the river to St. Romain-en-Gal, a suburb that has seen extensive excavation, and now has a rich display of houses and mosaics on display in situ and in the new Gallo-Roman museum.

We transfer to the airport for our flight back to London.