Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman site of Barzan, in Charente-Maritime, is an ancient port city of major importance, identified as Novioregum in the Itinerary of Antonin. Stunned since 1994, it reveals a city of 140 hectares, with emblematic monuments: a monumental circular temple (II century), one of the largest thermal baths in Gaul, a theatre of 81 m in diameter, a forum, warehouses (horrea) and a structured old network. Its peak, under the Antonins, makes it a strategic commercial hub between the Mediterranean and the British Islands, thanks to its river port on the Gironde.

The origins of the site date back to the Neolithic period (c. 3500 BC), with traces of habitat and necropolises near La Garde Hill. The Santons, a Gallic people, established a Celtic sanctuary there around the 7th century BC, before Rome turned the agglomeration into an emporium after the conquest (58 BC). The city declined from the third century, perhaps due to the siltation of the port, then was abandoned in the Middle Ages, its stones reused for local constructions.

Rediscovered in the 19th century, the site was classified as a Historic Monument in 1937 and 1939. The aerial excavations of Jacques Dassié (1975) reveal its real extent, while recent campaigns (1994–2017) exhume the temple of the Fâ, the thermal baths, and the theatre. A museum opened in 2005 presents artifacts, including Greek and Hispanic ceramics (Vth century BC), attesting to its early role in Mediterranean trade.

The temple of the Fâ, the religious heart of the city, combines a round cella of 20,80 m and a colonnade of 16 m high, similar to the fana of Périgueux or Vendeuvre-du-Poitou. The thermal baths, fed by a well of 16 m deep, and horrea underline its status as a merchant town. The theatre, capable of hosting 5,000 spectators, rivals those of Orange or Autun. Aqueduct, partially explored, still raises questions about water supply.

Roman urban planning is organised around a monumental decumanus (10 m wide), linking the port to the sanctuary. The forum, identified near the place called The Treasure, houses a statue of Cupid. The port, not searched, was a crossroads for British tin and Mediterranean products. Merovingian and Carolingian occupations (cabin bottoms, silos) attest to the late-anticipated reuse of the site.

The Roman routes, such as the one linking Bordeaux to Saintes via Novioregum, confirm its integration into regional networks. It is located 12 miles from Tamnum (Consac) and 15 miles from Saintes. Its decline coincides with the swelling of Saintongese gulfs (Seudre, Saintonge), a phenomenon also affecting Brouage in the seventeenth century. Today, the site, owned by the municipality, is managed by the association ASSA Barzan.

Future

A new museum opened in December 2005 in the old farm of the Moulin du Fâ. It presents remains from the most recent excavation campaigns, reconstructions, a 1/10° model of the Gallo-Roman city and an interactive terminal allowing a virtual tour of the ancient city.

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