The commune of Barzan, in the Charente-Maritime department of France, is home to a major Gallo-Roman archaeological site that has been the subject of scheduled archaeological excavations since 1994. Aerial photography and archaeological excavations have revealed the remains of a Gallo-Roman port city of great importance (featuring a monumental Gallo-Roman temple, thermal baths, a forum, a theater, and more) located between the communes of Barzan, Talmont-sur-Gironde, and Arces-sur-Gironde in the Charente-Maritime departmentRevue de l'Aquitaine historique, no. 46, September 2000
It is now considered highly likely that this Gallo-Roman town, which reached its peak during the 2nd century AD, is the Novioregum mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary.Karine Robin, "Novioregum, ville portuaire antique", Archéologia, no. 430, February 2, 2006. The town may also correspond to the Portus Santonum ("Port of the Santones") described by Ptolemy. History of the site
Prehistoric settlements
The surrounding area was occupied at a very early date, at least since the Neolithic, as demonstrated by the discovery of numerous archaeological remains at various locations in the commune of Barzan, particularly near La Garde Hill, a plateau overlooking the Gironde estuary. As early as 1877, the local historian Eutrope Jouan reported the discovery of fragments of polished stone axes and arrowheads.J. Eutrope Jouan, Monographie de Barzan, 1877. This discovery was supplemented almost a century later, in 1970, during land-levelling work following the dismantling of an American water reservoir built in 1917. These works uncovered pottery remains attributed to the Matignons cultural groupGuy Binot, Histoire de Royan et de la presqu'île d'Arvert, éditions Le Croît vif, 1994. and to the Peu-Richard culture.The Peu-Richard culture, dating to the 3rd millennium BC, is characterized by pottery decorated with horizontal fluting and eye-shaped motifs, as well as by fortified enclosures surrounded by double ditches. It takes its name from the hamlet of Peu-Richard at Thénac, a neighbouring commune of Barzan. Layers of ash and hearth stones found nearby, together with the presence of a necropolis only a few metres from the site, established the existence of a settlement dating to around 3500 BC.Le patrimoine des communes de la Charente-Maritime, éditions Flohic, p. 269.
In 1975, an aerial archaeology survey conducted by Jacques Dassié confirmed these findings and also revealed the presence of fortifications surrounding the settlement. These consisted mainly of ditches and staggered entrances,Stéphane Gustave, "De la préhistoire à l'histoire" an ingenious defensive system that left potential attackers highly exposed. Two more recent prehistoric sites dating to the Bronze Age were also discovered nearby: one close to the locality known as "Le Moulin du Fâ", and another on the northeastern slope of La Garde Hill, near the locality known as "Les Piloquets". The latter site was discovered by chance in 1980 during the planting of a vineyard. Among its finds were several bronze axes dating to around 1800 BC, which are now displayed at the Royan Museum. A temple
Around the 7th century BC, Saintonge was inhabited by the Celtic people known as the Santones. They established their capital at Saintes. The Santones also settled at the Le Fâ site, where they constructed a monumental sanctuary on a hill overlooking the Gironde estuary.Gallia, CNRS publication, 1944. They founded the settlement that would become the nucleus of the Roman city which developed there several centuries later.Jean-Noël Luc, Jean Combes, Michel Luc, La Charente-Maritime : l’Aunis et la Saintonge des origines à nos jours, éditions Bordessoules, 1981. Recent aerial surveys have also revealed traces of two additional Celtic temples, located on La Garde Hill.
Excavations directed by Karine Robin between 1996 and 2002 uncovered Gallic and Celtiberian pottery dating to the 5th century BC, suggesting that a trading port already existed at that period. In 1997, excavations also yielded several examples of Gallic coinage, the earliest of which are believed to have been struck at the end of the 2nd century BC.Fabien Lorre, "Les monnaies du Fâ".
Roman period: emergence of a port city
The territory of the Santones was conquered by the Romans in 58 BC. This marked the beginning of a period of prosperity for its capital, Mediolanum Santonum (modern Saintes), which became the first capital of the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania. The town of Novioregum, the second-largest settlement of the civitas Santonum (an administrative district of the Roman Empire), appears to have functioned as an emporium, or trading post, owing to its advantageous location near the mouth of the Gironde estuary. The first major public buildings were probably erected during the reign of the Flavian emperors (AD 69–96), as evidenced by fragments of statues and several Corinthian capitals dating from that period.Louis Maurin, Villes et agglomérations urbaines antiques du Sud-Ouest de la Gaule : histoire et archéologie, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1992. The city appears to have reached its height during the 2nd century AD under the Antonine emperors. It was embellished with major public monuments, including a theatre, broad streets, a harbour, and warehouses (horrea). The Roman baths were also enlarged during this period.
The prosperous city is mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, compiled during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the 3rd century AD. It places Novioregum on the road linking Saintes with Bordeaux via Blaye, at a distance of 15 leagues from Saintes (approximately 35 kilometres) and 12 leagues from Tamnum, a settlement that Jacques Dassié identified with a site near Consac (approximately 29 kilometres away). Dassié bases his hypothesis on the possible use of a long Gallic league—measuring 2,450 meters—instead of the Roman mile.
Decline of the ancient city
Decline, abandonment and oblivion
The city retained a certain importance until the end of the 3rd century, after which it declined for reasons that remain unknown. One hypothesis is that the harbour—probably the economic lifeblood of the settlement—gradually silted up, although no conclusive evidence has yet been found. This phenomenon was common in the region and, in the 17th century, led to the decline of another major regional port, Brouage.
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the ancient Roman city became a quarry for building stone. Decorative architectural elements were reused in local houses and churches, while Roman column shafts served for many years as well-heads in nearby villages. One such column, dating from the 3rd century, was reused as a baptismal font in the church of Épargnes, a neighbouring village. During the 16th century, a windmill was erected on the podium of the former temple. Known as the Moulin du Fâ, its name is probably a corruption of the Latin term fanum.
Unexpected occupation during the medieval period
Research conducted between 2015 and 2017 revealed evidence of Late Antiquity and early medieval occupation at the site. Archaeologists identified settlement remains from the Merovingian and Carolingian periods, including sunken-featured buildings, modified structures, silos, wells, and burials, both within the heart of the ancient town and in its surrounding area.
Rediscovery
Ruins that aroused curiosity
Although the presence of ancient ruins at Barzan had been known for several centuries—the royal engineer Claude Masse recorded them while serving in Aunis and Saintonge between 1694 and 1715Mémoires (1712–1715), by Claude Masse.—their significance was long underestimated. The first scholar to appreciate their importance was Abbé Auguste Lacurie, secretary of the Société archéologique de Saintes in the late 19th century. In 1844, he proposed that the visible ruins at Barzan might be those of the ancient town of Novioregum, whose location had been sought for centuries. However, several prominent archaeologists, such as Léon Massiou - a historian from Saujon who was considered an authority at the time- dispute this hypothesis, particularly in a book published in 1924.Les villes disparues : Tamnum, Novioregum.
Massiou himself directed an archaeological excavation at the site known as the Moulin du Fâ between 1921 and 1924. In addition to the temple and theatre already described by Claude Masse, the excavations uncovered the remains of an aqueduct and later those of Roman baths, confirming the existence of a settlement of considerable importance at the site.Louis Maurin and Dominique Tardy, La Charente-Maritime, pré-inventaire archéologique.
The importance of these discoveries led to the site's designation as a French Monument historique in 1937 and 1939. Novioregum
Between 1935 and 1957, Louis Basalo, an architect and archaeologist from Royan, also conducted excavations, investigating the aqueduct and excavating the Roman baths. During this campaign, a votive stele was discovered about 20 metres from the main sanctuary. Its inscription (C[aius] Cæcilius galeria civilis mart[i]) is generally interpreted as a dedication to the god Mars.
Despite these important discoveries, it was not until 1975, during a period of severe drought, that Jacques Dassié carried out aerial surveys which transformed understanding of the archaeological site.Jacques Dassié wrote: "Our first aerial survey photographs date from 1962. They revealed nothing decisive or interpretable as Gallo-Roman beyond the visible structures. It was not until the end of June 1975, when favourable crop conditions coincided with exceptional weather, that spectacular results were obtained. At the beginning of the summer, the yellowing cereals clearly revealed all the major features of a city." The surveys showed that the site was far larger than previously suspected.Plan of Novioregum Hidden beneath farmland and vegetation lay an ancient city covering approximately 140 hectares, comparable in size to the major Roman cities of Saintes (130 ha), Poitiers (about 150 ha), and Bordeaux (150–170 ha). The surveys identified temples, baths, a theatre, warehouses, a forum, residential districts, and an organized street network.
The site, initially consisting of privately owned land, was purchased by the municipality of Barzan in 1993, the same year that the association ASSA Barzan was established to manage and promote it. Systematic excavations began in 1994 under the supervision of Université Bordeaux III and the University of La Rochelle.
In 1994, the French Ministry of Culture entrusted excavations of the Sanctuary of Le Fâ to Pierre Aupert, research director at the CNRS. These excavations revealed, among other discoveries, the construction of two successive temples, the existence of a large pit (possibly used for sacrificial purposes), and construction markers associated with the temple podium.
In 1999, Laurence Tranoy carried out successful trial excavations at the locality known as Le Trésor, on the presumed site of the forum at the intersection of the cardo maximus and the decumanus.
From 1998 to 2004, excavations of the Roman baths north of Le Fâ were directed by Alain Bouet, maître de conférences HDR at the University of Bordeaux and a specialist in the Gallo-Roman period. These excavations soon demonstrated that the complex is one of the largest Roman bath establishments known in Gaul. Between 2002 and 2009, Bouet also directed excavations of the storage warehouses (horrea) south of the sanctuary, revealing extensive storage buildings and confirming the importance of the ancient harbour.Alain Bouet, "Les thermes de Barzan", in Les dossiers d'Archéologia, no. 323, p. 31.