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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman building of Vernou-sur-Brenne, located at 3-5 Aristide-Briand Street, is a rectangular building dated from the 2nd or 3rd century. Its walls, which range from 0.65 to 0.75 m, are built in small calcareous bellows with brick or tile beds, and arches in the middle of the hanger. Although partially destroyed, it retains remains up to 6.80 m high. Its exact function remains uncertain, but clues such as a pink mortar floor suggest a reassignment to a frigidarium of thermal baths, public or private.

The site of Vernou-sur-Brenne, occupied since Neolithic, was a Gallo-Roman secondary agglomeration at the crossroads of two ancient ways: one linking Orleans to Tours and Angers, the other along the Brenne to Vendôme. The building, the only ancient vestige known on site, could be a stage cottage or an element of thermal baths linked to this agglomeration. Its architectural style and materials (tuffeau, pink mortar) confirm its high dating (II-III century).

The building was wrongly called the "Palais de Pépin le Brief" by popular tradition and has been the subject of various assumptions: basilica founded by Bishop Perpet (cited by Gregory of Tours), episcopal residence, or thermal building. Archaeologists, like Jason Wood, now favour the hypothesis of public baths, although a private origin (baths of a villa) is not excluded. Its remains, integrated into modern buildings, have been protected since 1947.

The first observations in 1856 by Arcisse de Caumont already revealed a fragmentary state, with the disappearance of the eastern part. In 1988-1990, studies confirmed the presence of walled arcades and an evacuation duct, traces of reshaping. The foundations, in irregular tuft blocks linked to the lime mortar, and the brick interlayer trims highlight a careful construction. Today, only fragments of the north, west and south walls remain visible in modern dwellings.

Ranked a historic monument in 1947, the building illustrates the importance of secondary agglomerations in the Gallo-Roman network. Its location near the Brenne, 100 m from the shore, and its integration into the current urban fabric make it a rare testimony of ancient civil architecture in Touraine. The debates on its function reflect the documentary shortcomings, but also the richness of the assumptions allowed by the material remains.

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