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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman theatre of Vieux, located in the ancient Aregenua (capital of the Viducassians), was built between the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century. Originally conceived as a classic theatre with a 50 m2 stage and a 67 m diameter cellar, it was transformed in the second century into a hybrid building incorporating a 610 m2 arena to accommodate gladiator battles (munera). This metamorphosis, rare in Gaul, reflects the adaptation of local elites to Roman practices, while revealing budgetary constraints: wooden stands, the re-use of the natural slope and an irregular facade testify to an economic construction.

The 19th-century excavations, led by Antoine Charma for the Société des Antiquaires de Normandie, exhumed the remains between 1852 and 1854, revealing an 80-metre-diameter building that could accommodate between 5,700 and 7,600 spectators. The theatre, abandoned in the third century after a probable fire, then served as a quarry of materials: its stone elements (marms, friezes) were reused as sarcophagi in the French necropolis of the "Grand Champ" in the 7th-VIIIth centuries. The remains, buried at a shallow depth near the so-called "Le Jardin Poulain", have been protected since 1980 (partial classification for Parcel AE 17).

Aregenua, founded in the 1st century, experienced its climax in the 2nd and 3rd centuries under the Severes, with a monumental boom linked to the evergetism of notables like T. Sennius Solemnis, priest and patron having financed shows in 238. The city, without ramparts despite the disturbances of the third century, declined rapidly: its status as administrative capital was transferred to Bayeux before the fifth century. The theatre, a symbol of this ephemeral romanization, also illustrates the early decline of the Viducas, whose territory (2,300 km2) was absorbed by late imperial reforms.

Modern excavations (XX-XXI century) did little to deepen the knowledge acquired in the 19th century. Magnetic prospecting in 1982 and surveys in 1995 confirmed the location of the theatre, but its plan remains incomplete (missing internal traffic and southeast corner). The building, unique in Normandy by its dual function (scene + full arena), stands out from the Gallic theatres-amphithéâtres by a profound overhaul rather than a simple adaptation. Its irregular shape and modest materials (limestone, wood) bring it closer to the models of Lillebonne or Lisieux, reflecting limited means and a local labour force with little experience.

The theatre district, which was peripheral and artisanal, also housed wooden houses and the "house at the U-yard", a modest urban residence. After its abandonment, the site was reinvested by a rural occupation as early as the 7th century, without distinctive traces of its Roman past. The remains, now invisible but marked by a hillside near the museum parking lot, recall the urban failure of Aregenua, whose population (5,000-6,000 inhabitants at its peak) migrated to Bayeux or rural estates from the fourth century.

The rediscovery of the theatre is part of a long archaeological history: as early as 1588, the "Marble of Thorigny" (status base mentioning T. Sennius Solemnis) attested the importance of the site. In the 17th century, Nicolas-Joseph Foucault and Antoine Galland explored the thermal baths, while Arcisse de Caumont made assumptions about the location of the theatre in 1840. The excavations of Charma, although limited by financial means (1,700 francs), allowed a detailed plan, now supplemented by geophysical methods. The site, protected but not accessible, remains a key milestone in understanding Romanization in Lower Normandy.

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