Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Roman arcades of Avignon, located in the department of Vaucluse, are among the rare visible remains of the ancient city of Avenio. They consist of a structure in large apparatus, 4.60 meters high and 2.50 meters wide, extending over more than 250 meters. One arcade is now related, the others being integrated into the walls of modern houses. A canned 8.2-metre column, spotted rue de la Petite-Fusterie, suggests the existence of an upper gallery open towards the Rhône.

Classified as historical monuments on 7 September 1978, these arcades were interpreted in a variety of ways. In the 19th century, local assumptions associated them with ramparts protecting the city from river floods or wild beast enclosures intended for play. Recent archaeological research sees it rather as a support system delimiting the Roman forum, raising the ground by more than 4 meters. The space under the arcades could have served as warehouses (horrea) or cryptoportic.

The remains are scattered between Rue Saint-Étienne, Rue de la Petite-Fusterie and Rue Peyrollerie. Their partial state of conservation reflects both their integration into the medieval and modern urban fabric and their initial role in the development of the civic and commercial centre of Avenio. No major restorations were mentioned, but their classification in 1978 allowed them to be preserved in a dense urban context.

Their study contributes to the understanding of Roman urban planning in Provence, notably through the work of Dominique Carru on the Rhône in Avignon (1999). These arcades illustrate the adaptation of ancient infrastructures to geographical constraints, such as proximity to the river, and their subsequent reuse by local populations.

External links