dAf 66
GENIN Martine et Marie-Odile LAVENDHOMME
Rodumna (Roanne, Loire), le village gallo-romain
Évolution des mobiliers domestiques
This study gives an account of the results of the archaeological excavations of the Gallo-Roman village at Roanne (Rodumna).
The research is based mainly on 22 assemblages of material dating from the 1st century B.e. to the 3rd century AD., including glassware, iron and bronze objects, and above all an exceptional corpus of pottery. Detailed analysis of the pottery and its relationship with the rest of the material enabled a chronology to be established. Using criteria such as frequency, use, variety of pottery production, datation, origins etc. this chronology was found to be in continuity with previously studied Gaulish horizons. A series of illustrations places the material within the context of its discovery.
The results of this study lead to an outline of the economic development of Rodumna - a small, rural town, built of clay and wood, very much in keeping with Gaulish tradition.
This new volume in the dAf collection continues the study of the Gaulish occupations of Roanne begun in the recently published dAf 62. These two volumes, along with, the publication on Feurs (dAf 14), constitute an exceptional documentation about the antique Segusiavi region.
Abstract
Abstract
1. Introduction : A historical outline of the gallo-roman small town of Roanne
O. BLIN
1.1. Research history
The name of the small town on the site of Roanne during Antiquity, Rodumna, is known from Ptolemy's work, Geography (2, 8, 11). It is mentioned alongside Forum Segusiavorum (Feurs) as being the town of the Segusiavi (fig. 1). Roanne, under the name of Roidomna, is equally a stop-over on the itinerary between Lugdunum (Lyon) and Augustonemetum (Clermont-Ferrand) on the Table of Peutinger (fig. 2).
The first mention of buried remains in the area of Roanne dates from the end of the 17th century (La Mure 1674). Our knowledge of the roman bourg only started to develop during the 1960's. A policy of systematic intervention was implemented during the early 1980's by the regional archaeological service (S.R.A.). This led to the big excavation in the enclosure of the institution Saint-Paul in 1987 (Guilhot et al. 1992).
1.2. The site
The town is situated on the left bank of the river Loire, at the southern end of a basin of tertiary subsidence (the plain of Roanne). It extends in a line parallel to the Loire which forms its eastern limit (fig. 3). To the west there spreads a vast area of marshlands. We don't know if the Loire was already in use during the roman period. However, Roanne is the junction of several routes frequented during this period: Lyon-Vichy, Roanne-Autun, Roanne-Feurs (to rejoin the via Agrippa between Lyon and the Atlantic ocean) and Roanne-Montbrison (to rejoin the road to Rodèze).
1.3. The archaeological data
The establishment of an archaeological map or S.M.R. of the town is an indispensable first step towards its study. The results are presented in paragraph 1.5.
1.4. The analysis of the data
The principal fact is the recognition of the gaulish origins of the gallo-roman small town. During the first half of the 1st century S.C., the surface area of the gaulish village is no greater than ten hectares. At its greatest extent, certainly attained during the middle of the 1st century A.D., it covered some 35 hectares. The site of the village and the directions of the gallo-roman expansion seem to be largely conditioned by the tracks which cross the site.
Following the gaulish period, the morphology of the town developed progressively. The image is one of a rural habitat, rooted in tradition (timber buildings, persistence of the gaulish plan or lay-out, rubbish pits close to the dwellings).
The pottery production is the only activity which left sufficient remains to allow us to discern its relative importance in the village economy (13 kilns). The production (fig. 10) is essentially pottery destined for the local market.
1.5. Chronological inventory of the archaeological discoveries
2. Objectives and implementation of the study
2.1. Introduction
M. GENIN
The objective of this study is to give an overall view of the evolution of the domestic finds. This is intended to serve as a starting point for more detailed research later on. The outline of the evolution of this material was established after a study of the pottery of the 22 closed assemblages (tabl. II) which cover the period between the end of the 1st century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D. A systematic inventory and study of all the archaeological material (except that of the animal remains) of these groups were carried out (tabl. III).
2.2. The archaeological assemblages
M.-O. LAVENDHOMME
The choice of these 22 assemblages was justified by the quantity and the quality of their small-finds. For the pottery, it represents a corpus of 60,000 sherds and 6,000 vessels.
2.3. The chronological framework
M. GENIN
The limits of the chronological framework were fixed using the available documentation: no closed group of finds from the habitations can be considered as being posterior to the first third of the 3rd century A.D. The determination of the earliest date was a more delicate task because of the continuity between the gaulish and roman occupation of the site. Some of the pits from the horizon n°6 are thus studied in the volume given over to the gaulish village (Lavendhomme, Guichard 1997).
The 22 pits are spread over 7 chronological horizons (tabl. IV), determined by the pottery analyses, The proposed dates are founded on those generally accepted for the appearance and disappearance of the main productions of terra sigilata.
3. The non ceramics finds
3.1. The coins
M.-O. LAVENDHOMME
There are few coins from the pits chosen for the study of the evolution of the domestic finds from Roanne : 30, of which 26 are identifiable (fig. 25). They are of little use in dating the groups of finds (fig. 26) as they are all anterior.
3.2. The moulded clay statuettes
O. BLIN
The statuettes, moulded in white, kaolinic clay, represent a small minority amongst the archaeological material (fig. 27, tabl. V). first of all, during the period of the horizons 8 to 10, the distribution is very small and limited to small shrines. It only increases during the horizons11 and 12, coupled with a diversification of the range of finds. The most commonly found categories are those of the divinities and quadrupeds.
3.3. The metalwork and the small-finds
M. FEUGÈRE
Bronze-working is indicated on the site, the craftsmen of Roanne producing small bells and mirrors, amongst other items. The production is well represented in the horizon n° 8 (circa 30 - 70 A.D.) and seems strictly limited to a local market. The romanisation at Roanne took on a different form and amplitude than that of Feurs. We should not, however, use the cliché of a small town completely isolated from the great developments of the Pax Romana. The dress items, of which many must have been imported, the items of toiletry, the bronze vessels and the indices of writing are all factors which temper the contrast between Rodumna and Segusiavorum, the capital of the civitas.
3.4 The glass vessels
M.-O. LAVENDHOMME
The vessels of glass are almost absent from the horizons 6 and 7 and only make a timid appearance in horizon 8 (fig. 29, 30, tabl. VI). The highest incidence is reached in the horizon n° 10 with a little less than 5 glass vases for 100 pottery items. A large part of the forms identified corresponds with three classic types of gallo-roman tradition: a cup with vertical ribs (horizons 8 and 9); bottles with one or two handles (circular, square or hexagonal sections, horizons 9 and 10); balsam jars.
4. The pottery
M. GENIN
4.1. Working methods
The classification of the material into categories takes into account the traditional criteria of technology (fabric, firing), morphology and function. Sixteen categories of ceramics are thus obtained from all the periods. Each one is presented for the entire duration of its evolution from horizons 6 to 12 (tabl. VII and VIII). Parallel to this, a corpus of plates illustrates the contents of each pit and allows the direct visualisation of the associations between the types of production within any given context.
4.2. The terra sigilata
With about 3,800 sherds representing over 700 vessels, the terra sigilata constitutes 12% of the gallo-roman tableware at Roanne (fig. 31). The proportion is not very high in the material from horizon n° 6, but increases noticeably from horizons 7 and 8 and maintains this higher lever during the following periods. The productions from Italy or the region of Lyon define horizon n° 6 and co-exist with several forms from southern and central Gaul during horizon 7. Horizons 8 and 9 are marked by a preponderance of southern gaulish terra sigilata of which the numbers only really start to decline in favour of the central gaulish "stoneware" or high-fired productions during horizon 10. We should note that the "non-stoneware" i.e. fired at a lower temperature) productions from the central gaulish workshops remain a small minority during the course of the 1st century.
4.3. Thin-walled wares / finewares
The finewares distinguish themselves by their diversity (fig. 39). The goblets with a siliceous fabric (Aco type) are specific to horizon 6. The Beuvray type vessels appear at the same time. They reach their peak during the horizon 8 before dropping off rapidly during horizon 9. The vessels with an incrusted sandy decoration form 41% of the sample during horizon 8 and remain at a high level during horizon 9. Their frequency also tails off during the horizotl10. Horizon 9 sees above all the '. appearance of oval forms with a "pinned" decoration which develop during horizon 10. The pots with moulded decorations and the grey-slip wares witness the beginnings of a diversification which develops throughout the horizon n° 11. The plain wares or those with a metallic type finish represent the greater part of the material of the horizon 12. In more and more details, they increasingly resemble the true metallic finishes, with the addition of several forms with a moulded decoration.
4.4. The metallic finish wares
These productions play a rôle in the determination of the horizon 12 and only appear in this horizon. It includes decorated and plain wares from the workshops of central and eastern-central Gaul.
4.5. Lead glazed wares
This category, from the central gaulish workshops, comes mainly from the pits of horizon 8 (fig. 40). Three pits, from the excavation at "la rue Gilbertès" (32, 33 and 38), are remarkable by the concentration of terra nigra. They also contained 55 of the 66 lead-glazed vessels observed. This suggests the presence of a shift in the chronology within this horizon.
4.6. White-slip wares
Starting from horizon 6 (fig. 41), the sample of white-slip wares show a greater diversity during the horizons 8 and 9. These levels yielded 25 forms, mainly jugs, from the central gaulish workshops.
4.7. Red-slipwares
The red-slip wares are only represented by a score of vessels (fig. 42) of which the. majority came from the same three pits on the site of "la rue Gilbertès" (pits 32, 33 and 38). The productions come for the most part from central Gaul.
4.8. "Sponge-painted" wares
These vessels are only found in the material of the horizons 10, 11 and 12 (fig. 43). The production is recorded in central Gaul, dated to the first third of the 2nd century A.D. The material at Roanne shows that this original group continued to be produced and distributed from the end of the 2nd century to the start of the 3rd century A.D.
4.9. Painted wares
This category is already strongly represented in the horizons 6 and 7 (fig. 44 and 45) where it constitutes respectively 12 and 8% of the vessels. Its proportion increases during the horizon 8 (14%) and reaches a peak of 17% in the horizon 9. It breaks off completely in the horizon 10 (3%).
The tall forms of the original range of material (balusters) had already virtually disappeared during the horizon 6. It was therefore the bowls produced at Roanne which represent the bulk of the painted wares.
4.10. Plates with an internal "pompeian" red-slip
The plates with a pompeian slip are absent in the horizons 6 and 7 and remain exceptionally rare during the following periods. This extreme rarity at Roanne leads us to think that the functions normally reserved for this type of vessel were fulfilled by the burnished plates and dishes produced in grey-fabric fine or coarse wares.
4.11. Terra nigra
The terra nigra brought to light at Roanne is one of the most interesting points of this study. It consists of an exceptionally rich assemblage of which the distribution allows us to date its appearance and diffusion (fig. 47 and 48).
The production from the workshops of the valley of the Allier is present from horizon 6 (end of the reign of Augustus) and progresses strongly until the middle of the 1st century A.D. where it represents 13 % of the pottery. The larger part of the .sampie is concentrated in the three rubbish pits from the horizon 8 of the site at "la rue Gilbertès" (pits 32, 33 and 38). The category disappears suddenly during horizon 9.
4.12. Grey-fabric fine-wares
This category develops at Roanne before the middle of the 1st century B.C. and is systematically represented in the gallo-roman material (496 vessels) (fig. 51). Its numbers diminish regularly during the horizons 7 and 8 and seem to stagnate during the period when the terra nigra starts to flood the market at Roanne. At the end of the 1st century A.D., the grey-wares occupy the same place as they did during the middle of this century. The situation only changes during the horizon 10 where it falls to 4 % of the vessels present.
4.13. Red-fabric coarse-wares
This is rather uncommon during the horizons 6 to 9 (10 to 15 %) (fig. 53). This proportion increases to 30 % for the horizons 10 and 11 before falling off to 17,5% in horizon 12. Group 1 (jugs) is dominant in all the horizons, except for horizon 8 where the group 2 (oval jars) takes the lead. However, these two groups are in the large majority from horizons 6 to 12 (fig. 54).
4.14 Grey coarse-wares
An observation of the data from both the grey and red-fabric coarse-wares shows that culinary vessels are much more frequent than those used as table services (fig. 55). This category becomes progressively more common and reaches its peak (40%) during horizon 11 (fig. 53). The oval-shaped pots are the most common form during all the periods (fig. 56). Cooking pots, dishes and lids are also present throughout the whole gallo-roman period whilst jugs, plates and dishes are rather uncommon.
Besançon type jars are still present in horizon 6 and all but disappear during horizon 7 (1 example). The indigenous style pottery, non wheel-turned, is relatively well represented in the horizons 6 and 7 where it constitutes respectively 31 and 27% of the grey-fabric coarse-wares.
4.15. Storage jars
Storage jars are systematically represented in the gallo-roman rubbish pits of Roanne (fig. 57). Virtually all of them have granular, ochre or brown fabrics with grey mottling which seems to be characteristic of the productions of Roanne. The forms are either low or tall, with an oval body. Two types of rims are encountered: an overhanging lip with a large, flat upper surface, or a moulded rim.
4.16. Amphorae
Apart from the Dressel 1 (residual material), the amphorae containing wine are particularly uncommon (fig. 58 and 60). On the other hand, importations of oil from Baetica (Spain) are represented throughout the whole of the gallo-roman period by the presence of Dressel 20 amphorae. Their morphological evolution presents several important phases. The amphorae used for salted goods or fish based conserves are shown by examples of Dressel 7/11 in the horizons 6 to 9. These originate from Baetica and are joined during horizon 10 by Beltran-Lloris IIa amphorae from the same source. The horizons 10 and 11 contain several Dressel 9 amphorae, copies of productions from Lyon or the Rhône. A few Richborough 527 amphorae appear at Roanne in horizon 9 and carry on until horizon 12. Another group seems to be produced at Roanne during horizon 8.
4.17 Lamps
Of the 70 lamps present, only 21 are typologically identifiable. It is obvious that such a small sample can not give a true picture of their evolution.
4.18 Synthesis
The seven ceramic horizons are illustrated through the figures 61 to 67 which gather, each one, the main vases' types found within the different categories, either the most frequent types, or the types which appearance caracterize such or such period. The reader will therefore be able to visually reconstitute the associations which have not been treated in the text on purpose.
5. Conclusion
M. GENIN, M.-O. LAVENDHOMME
The overall impression is that of a certain delay in what may be called the romanisation of Roanne compared to that of the great urban centres, perceptable during the Augustian period. The prosperity of the Pax Romana during the 1st century A.D. levelled these differences. The end of this century, and the 2nd century A.D., are marked by a halt in the development of the town, a return of the traditional forms of material and a certain isolation from the commercial circuits.
