Lutetia
Lutetia (sometimes referred to as Lutetia Parisiorum or Lucotecia , French Lutèce ) is the ancient name of Paris . This is of Celtic origin, but also refers to the Gallo-Roman city from which later Paris developed.
etymology
The origin of the city name is traced back to the Celtic , whereby there are two possible explanations: One possibility leads Lutetia back to luto- or luteuo- , which means “swamp”, the other names the origin as lucot- which stands for “mouse” .
prehistory
The first remains of settlements in the Paris area date from around 4000 BC. There are remains from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age . The name Lutetia is used for the year 53 BC. First mentioned by Gaius Iulius Caesar and described as lying on an island. After Caesar, Lutetia was the capital of the Celtic tribe of the Parisii . Archaeological remains from this period are sparse, however, so that it cannot be said with certainty where exactly the Celtic city was. Historians have tried to identify the Île de la Cité , a central Parisian island in the Seine , as the location of the Celtic city. However, excavations there have unearthed almost no pre-Roman remains. The location of the Celtic city remains uncertain.
The Roman city
The oldest remains (Italian amphorae, fibulae) from Roman times, after Gaul was incorporated into the Roman Empire, date to around 40–30 BC. BC, but were found without context, so that little can be said about an early Roman settlement. It is believed that the city emerged from a military camp , but so far no clear evidence has been found.
The actual city was probably founded in the early first century AD and had three main settlement areas. The real center was on the left bank of the Seine. The Île de la Cité, an island, was another focal point, and there was a sizable suburb to the right of the river. The three parts of the city were connected by bridges.
The city to the left (south) of the Seine was given a chessboard-like city plan with blocks of houses ( insulae ) measuring 300 × 300 Roman feet (88.8 × 88.8 m), although this street grid was apparently not strictly adhered to. From the southeast there was z. B. a diagonal coming street from Lyon, which led to the center of the city. Although it was an important city, Lutetia was not a provincial capital and probably gained its importance as a crossroads of important trade routes.
buildings
Various public buildings have been found in excavations in the city. There was a two-insulae forum with a courtyard and a temple in the middle and a basilica to the east. The building was probably surrounded on all sides by arcades and shops. There was an amphitheater , the Arena of Lutetia just outside the city, and a theater inside the city. The theater, which was excavated from 1861 to 1884, corresponded with its semicircle ( cavea ) and rectangular stage construction to the common Roman type and took up an insula of the city. It was built at the end of the first century AD and slowly demolished in the fourth century.
Thermal baths
So far, three larger thermal baths have been identified. The Cluny baths are still largely upright and serve as part of the Musée national du Moyen Âge (Hôtel de Cluny). This building took up an entire insula and consisted of the actual bath and a courtyard to the south of it. It is one of the best preserved Roman structures north of the Alps. Little has been preserved of the former furnishings. The walls were probably covered with marble and partly painted. The floors were probably also marbled and had mosaics. After all, a mosaic floor was found showing an erotic on a dolphin.
The largest bathing complex was located at what is now the Collège de France and took up two insulae. It has only been partially excavated and dates to the end of the first century AD. In the same insula there were also Roman residential buildings, which apparently were later built over by the bath. Although considerable remains have been found, too little has been preserved to be able to reconstruct the original plan. Two round rooms in the center of the bathroom, which probably contained bathing basins, are remarkable. Only a few remains of the original equipment have been preserved from this complex. Column capitals and marble fragments were found. A third thermal bath could finally be observed south of the forum.
There was an aqueduct to supply the city with water from the south. This was 16 km long. It was mostly underground and tried to adapt to the geographical conditions, so that it did not run in a straight line from the source to the city, but instead wound through the landscape. Three sources have been used. Only in the Bievre valley did it run above ground and crossed this valley with a bridge construction.
Residential buildings
Residential buildings could be seen in various parts of the city. Because of the poor conservation conditions, however, little can be said about their character. After all, the city initially seems to have been built with wooden buildings, which were later replaced by stone ones. In some houses there were cellars, hypocausts and significant remains of wall paintings .
The city was certainly a local center and supplied the area with handicraft products. Little is known, however, of the craft workshops in the city. At least two potteries were found. Boatmen, stonemasons and blacksmiths are known of grave steles.
Pillar of the Nautae Parisiaci
A special monument is the pillar of the Nautae Parisiaci , the boatmen's guild, the fragments of which were found under Notre-Dame . On this column there are representations of Celtic and Roman deities (e.g. Mars, Mercurius, Venus). The monument is dated by inscriptions under Emperor Tiberius (14 to 37 AD) and thus represents the oldest datable sculpture in France. The column is only preserved in four segments. The composition of these is not certain. The inscription with the date reads:
- for Tiberius Caesar Augustus and Jupiter, very good, very great, the sailors of the Parisian territory built this monument with their common income
temple
Apart from the forum temple, no other religious buildings have been found within the city so far. Outside the actual city area, to the west, however, two sanctuaries were identified during excavations. It is a Gallo-Roman temple complex, which may have been dedicated to Mars , and a temple of Mercurius at today's Sacré-Coeur on Montmartre . A large bath complex, also outside the city, which was recently found, may have served as a water sanctuary.
Necropolis
Outside the city, in the south, there was an important necropolis . There were burials in the ground, burials with couches on which the corpses were laid, burials in wooden coffins and burials in sarcophagi . A notable find was the burial of a child in a sarcophagus that was sealed with stucco. The stucco had run into the sarcophagus and left a living imprint of the child's face. Richer graves were adorned with steles and stone monuments, many of which were built into buildings from late antiquity.
Another necropolis was found to the south-east on the other side of the Seine (which bends sharply to the south here) and dates to late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.
Late antiquity
Despite the importance and size of the city, it does not seem to have had any city walls. When the political situation in Gaul became increasingly uncertain in the middle of the third century AD, the late ancient city shrank and largely withdrew to the Île de la Cité. Parts of the earlier city were used as cemeteries, but the parts of the city to the left of the Seine never seem to have been completely abandoned. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of Lutetia's inner suburb ( suburbia ), which indicates different parts of the city. Parts of the city were used as a quarry. The name Paris appears for the first time at around 300 . The place remained politically important: Since 355 the Caesar (lower emperor) Julian resided in Lutetia , who was proclaimed Augustus (upper emperor) there in 360 . In his Misopogon he gives a brief description of the city:
- At that time I was staying in my dear Lutetia in winter quarters: this is what the Celts call the capital of the Parisians. The citadel is on a small island in the middle of the river, surrounded by a wall, wooden bridges lead across from both banks.
The place was also residence for the Germanic campaigns of Valentinians I from 365-366 . On the Île de la Cité , the remains of a palace, probably the citadel mentioned by Julian , which was still used in the Middle Ages, and a basilica were discovered. Both buildings are partly made of Spolia and date to the 4th century. The palace was about 1 hectare in size. The basilica, which probably had three naves, took up an area of 70 × 35 m. In the 4th century, the city on the island also received a city wall that still stood in the early Middle Ages.
Little can be said about early Christianity in the city. The remains of the Merovingian church, the Basilique Saint-Etienne, lie beneath Notre-Dame . For a long time it was assumed that there must have been a Roman church under this building. However, excavations could not confirm this. Rich residential buildings stood here until the third century. Dionysius of Paris is named as the first bishop (and also martyr ) in later sources . The first documented bishop was Victorinus , who officiated around 346.
See also
Remarks
- ^ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , 21
- ^ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , p. 26
- ^ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , p. 32
- ↑ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , pp. 80–89
- ↑ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , pp. 90–97
- ↑ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , pp. 106–119
- ↑ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , pp. 102-105
- ↑ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , pp. 98-101
- ^ Alix Barbet: La peinture murale en Gaule Romaine , Picard: Paris 2008, ISBN 978-2-7084-0757-2 , pp. 137-138, 324, 356
- ↑ Busson: Paris, a Roman city , pp. 120-131
- ↑ 340D, translation after Marion Giebel , Julian Aposta, Der Barthasser , Stuttgart 1999, p. 11, ISBN 3-15-009767-3
literature
- Philippe Carbonnières: Lutèce, Paris ville romaine . Gallimard / Paris-Musées, Paris 1997, ISBN 2-07-053389-1 .
- Didier Busson: Carte Archéologique de la Gaule 75: Paris . Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris 1998, ISBN 2-87754-056-1 .
- Philippe Carbonnières: Lutèce, Paris ville romaine . Gallimard / Paris-Musées, Paris 1997, ISBN 2-07-053389-1 .
- Didier Busson: Paris, a Roman city . Center des monuments nationaux - Monum, Éditions du patrimoine, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-85822-692-X ( Archaeological guides to France = Guides archéologiques de la France ).
Web links
- Paris, ville antique (French)
Coordinates: 48 ° 50 ′ 40 ″ N , 2 ° 21 ′ 10 ″ E