La Graufesenque
La Graufesenque ( Latin Condatomagus ) is a hamlet in the eastern municipality of Millau in the French department of Aveyron . The place is located at the confluence of the Dourbie in the upper Tarn and has a long history from Roman times as a place of production of Roman ceramics ( South Gallic Terra Sigillata ). The Latin place name is passed down from the Tabula Peutingeriana . The ceramic factory was of national importance in the 1st century AD, when its products were exported to large parts of the western Roman Empire.
History of Terra Sigillata Production
While the Italian terra sigillata, mainly produced in Arezzo , dominated the markets until the early first century AD, they established themselves from 15 BC onwards. First pottery in Lyon (Lugdunum) and Montans am Tarn near Toulouse . The advantages of the Gallic pottery were large deposits of raw materials and shorter transport routes to the buyer. In addition, they made some specific vessel shapes that do not appear in Italian sigillata, with which they probably served the special customer taste in the province (including the shapes Dragendorff 29 and 30).
Production in La Graufesenque continued in the second quarter of the 1st century BC. A. In the course of the 1st century, the manufactory gained a dominant position in the northwestern provinces and largely pushed back the other locations, especially the Italian pottery. Even in Italy, goods were now being imported from southern Gaul. According to Frédéric Hermet, four major production stages are distinguished:
- période primitive : reign of the emperor Tiberius (14–37 AD)
- période splendeur : government of the emperors Claudius and Nero (41–68 AD)
- période transition : Vespasian period (69–79 AD)
- période décadence : ( Domitian to Trajan , 81–117 AD)
In the later period, mass production led to a poorer shape of the ornament. The production, which is now certainly cheaper, could not compete with the large pottery centers in Central Gaul. In the Trajan period, the products from La Graufesenque disappeared in the finds of the large sales markets at the troop locations on the Rhine. Pottery declined to be of local importance.
Buildings and finds
The finds from the excavations give an insight into the work flow of large ancient companies. Particularly noteworthy are the incised inscriptions on incorrect fires . They show that the ovens were filled by several entrepreneurs on a cooperative basis and contained an average of up to 30,000 vessels. One of these ovens was given the descriptive name grand four and can be viewed in the outdoor area of the local museum. As in most of the production sites of Terra Sigillata, such as Rheinzabern ( Tabernae ) , the finds of incorrect fires, shaped dishes and hallmarks are very numerous.
During excavations between 1973 and 1981, three different parts of the vicus could be recorded: the pottery factories, the living quarters and various sanctuaries from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. The excavation site can be visited together with a small exhibition. The majority of the finds are exhibited in the Millau Museum on place Foch .
Oven floor plan of the grand four
Settlement of the potter over the filling of an oven.
Faulty fires stuck together to "sausages" in the Millau museum
literature
- Frédéric Hermet: La Graufesenque (Condatomago) , Volume I-II. Paris 1934.
- August Oxé : La Graufesenque. In: Bonner Jahrbücher , 140/141, 1936, pp. 325–394.
- Barbara horse shepherd: The Roman terra sigillata pottery in southern Gaul. Aalen 1978 ( Small Writings on Knowledge of the Roman Occupation History of Southwest Germany , 18).
- Colette Bémont, Alain Vernhet, Françoise Beck: La Graufesenque. Village de potiers gallo-romains. Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Paris 1987.
- Robert Marichal: Les graffites de La Graufesenque. Ed. du Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris 1988, ISBN 2-222-03864-2 .
- Jean-Charles Balty , Daniel Schaad (Eds.): Condatomagos. Une agglomération de confluent en territoire rutène IIe sa C. - IIIe sp C. Éd. de la Fédération Aquitania, Pessac 2007, ISBN 2-910763-09-9 .
Web links
Coordinates: 44 ° 5 ′ 49.8 " N , 3 ° 5 ′ 31.5" E