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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Gallo-Roman sewer of Clermont-Ferrand is an underground gallery classified as a Historic Monument in 1952, located under the Place de la Victoire. This vestige is part of a vast network of cellars dug in the volcanic tuff of the Clermont hill, a legacy of the ancient city of Augustemetum. The Romans exploited this soft but resistant rock to build basements, some of which, now buried, were formerly ground floor.

The Clermont hill, formed by the eruption of the Jaude maar 160,000 years ago, offered an ideal material for these constructions. The tuf, covering a layer of impermeable marnes, allowed to dig up to five levels of cellars, often connected between them. The gallery under the place de la Victoire, originally interpreted as an aqueduct or a forum, was finally identified as a sewer, testifying to Roman engineering in sanitation.

These cellars, used during the Middle Ages as refuges or storage spaces (wine, cheeses like the saint nectaire), also had a defensive role during the Second World War. In 1943, 527 cellars were identified to house 17,096 people during the bombings. Today, some are protected, while others welcome cultural or tourist activities, preserved by associations such as the Acavic.

The underground network reflects the urban evolution of Clermont-Ferrand: Roman buildings, partially buried by centuries-old erosion, coexist with medieval and modern developments. Ventilation wells, still visible on the surface, recall the ingenuity of ventilation systems. Despite their economic decline (disappearance of cheese and wine cellars in the 20th century), these galleries remain a unique heritage, studied for their archaeological and geological value.

Ranked in 1952, the Gallo-Roman gallery illustrates the adaptation of the Romans to volcanic relief. Its layout, under the central square, suggests a structuring role in ancient urban planning. Recent excavations and inventories (notably by the Acavic) have revealed remains such as toads of stone for barrels, confirming its mixed use: sanitation, storage, and possibly drainage of water from the water table accumulated on the marnes.

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