Villa Rustica (Montcaret)
The Villa Rustica of Montcaret is the remains of a Roman country estate in the town of Montcaret in the Dordogne department in France .
When a wash house was built in 1827, walls and a mosaic came to light. Further remains were found in the following years. The first systematic excavations took place mainly in 1939. There were further investigations between 1947 and 1951 and in isolated cases in the following years.
Since the remains of the villa are located within the modern village, only parts of it could be excavated. In the middle of the ruins is a medieval church. The villa was built in the first century. The preserved remains are grouped around a courtyard. A large hall to the west of the facility is remarkable. It has an apse and was heated. To the west of this is a smaller, cross-shaped hall, which in turn has two apses and was equipped with a mosaic . In the east there was a bathroom, also partly decorated with mosaics. Both halls and the bathroom were built in the fourth century. The villa was once richly furnished. There were remains of statues. There are five ancient capitals built into the local medieval church , which most likely come from the villa. The walls of the villa were painted and partially covered with marble . A total of seven mosaics were discovered, most of which show geometric patterns. A mosaic from the bathroom consists of sixteen squares depicting marine animals. Parts of the villa can be visited today.
literature
- Hervé Gaillard: La Dordogne (= Carte archaeologique de la Gaule 24/1), Paris 1996, ISBN 2-87754-051-0 , pp. 159-166.
Web links
Coordinates: 44 ° 51 ′ 30 ″ N , 0 ° 3 ′ 49 ″ E