Villa Rustica (Montmaurin)
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The Villa Rustica of Montmaurin is the remains of the largest Roman villa in France . The remains are located near the municipality of Montmaurin in the Haute-Garonne department .
The villa stands on a terrace over the Save . Its oldest parts go back to the middle of the first century AD. The building was arranged around a central courtyard with various agricultural buildings in advance. The villa was inundated by floods in the second century, but it is still under management. It was expanded around 250 AD, but destroyed as early as 276 AD during a barbarian invasion. However, it was used again in the fourth century.
The villa was greatly expanded, now took up an area of about 4 hectares and had about 200 rooms. A long driveway led to a semicircular portico with a temple and an altar. Behind it was the peristyle with various rooms that were arranged around it. This was also followed by a bathroom. A second peristyle followed and was decorated with apses for green spaces and aquariums. The villa was richly decorated with marble, mosaics and statues. The building fell victim to a fire around 350/375 and was continued to be cultivated, only to be abandoned at the beginning of the 5th century.
It has been suggested that the villa once managed an estate of around 1500 hectares. It is located in the district of Nébouzan, which is probably derived from Nepotianum . This suggests that the owner of the villa was called Nepotianus . The name Nepotianum appears in a document from 1342.
The remains of the villa can be visited today.
literature
- Alexander G. McKay: Roman Houses and Palaces. Feldmeilen 1980, ISBN 3-7611-0585-1 , pp. 184-186.
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Haute-Garonne. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-84234-081-7 , pp. 387-389.
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 12 ′ 59 " N , 0 ° 38 ′ 44" E