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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Cassinomagus is a Gallo-Roman agglomeration established between the first and fourth centuries in the present territory of Chassenon, Charente. This archaeological site is famous for its first century thermal baths, among the best preserved in Gaul, and for its intensive use of impactite, a rock from the Rochechouart-Chassenon astroblem, formed by the fall of a meteorite about 203 million years ago. The thermal baths, with an area of 12,500 m2, were double thermal baths of imperial type, with separate therapeutic and hygienic circuits.

Located at the border of the territories of the Lemovices, Pictons, Santons and Petrocores, Cassinomagus was a strategic crossroads on two major Roman routes: one connecting Saintes to Lyon and the other Périgueux to Poitiers. The agglomeration, with an area of 140 hectares at its height in the second century, included a monumental complex of 20 hectares, including the thermal baths, the octagonal temple of Montelu, two fana (Gaulian temples) and an amphitheater. The excavations revealed traces of occupation as early as Protohistory, with ditches and ceramics dated from the Tena (IInd–I century BC).

The thermal baths, built between 90 and 180 AD, were abandoned at the end of the third century, while the site gradually declined. After the invasions, the monuments served as stone quarries for local buildings. The first excavations, carried out by Abbé Michon in 1844, mistakenly identified the thermal baths as a "palais". It was only in 1961 that Jean-Henri Moreau recognized them as public baths. Today, the Cassinomagus Archaeological Park, open to the public, protects and enhances these remains, including a botanical garden and historical reconstructions.

The Rochechouart-Chassenon astroblem, unique in France, played a key role in the construction of the site. Impactites, fractured and melted by the meteorite impact, were widely used to erect monuments. Local quarries, such as Trous and Vignes or Grande Coin, supplied the site. The thermal baths, designed as a "fragmented project", were built in stages with advanced techniques, such as brick vaults and hypocaust heating systems.

Archaeological excavations, revived in the 20th century, revealed remarkable objects, such as a statuette of a Gaulish god seated in a tailor (found in 1895) and a carved wood quail. The site, classified as a historical monument since 1959, is now managed by the Charente Department. It attracts 20 000-25 000 visitors annually, offering guided tours, educational workshops and historical reconstructions, while pursuing multidisciplinary scientific research.

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