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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The archaeological garden of the Hospital of Lisieux is a public space presenting the remains of a Gallo-Roman quarter searched between 1978 and 1985 under the direction of Claude Lemaître. This site, discovered by chance in 1967 during the construction of the Robert-Bisson hospital boiler plant, reveals two major sets: a thermal building and a private villa. The excavations revealed murals of rare quality, including a decoration of fish on a blue background unique in Gaul, as well as baths divided into male and female sections, dated the 2nd century. The remains testify to a continuous occupation from the 1st to the 3rd century, before their gradual abandonment and partial destruction by fire around 268-280.

The thermal baths, initially a home transformed into a public establishment, present an atypical radiant plan and luxurious paintings, such as those of the female tepidarium decorated with representations of the Muses. The villa, built at the end of the first century, had about fifty rooms, including kitchens, reception rooms and hypocaust heated spaces. The painted decorations, studied in the centre of Soissons, reveal advanced techniques, such as marble imitation or mythological scenes, dated from the late 2nd or early 3rd century. The site, protected since 1987, illustrates the urbanization of Noviomagus Lexoviorum (Antique Lisieux), capital of the Lexovii, and its decline due to the crises of the third century.

The location of the district, on the eastern limit of the Gallo-Roman agglomeration, near a decumanus and aqueducts, underlines its importance in urban organisation. The thermal baths, fed by sources located at 9 km, were close to a road leading to Evreux (Mediolanum Aulercorum). After their destruction, the site served as a stone quarry until the Middle Ages, and then hosted potters in the 11th-11th centuries. The excavations also revealed traces of metallurgical crafts prior to the thermal baths, confirming an early occupation of the area.

The paintings of the female tepidarium, interpreted as a representation of Muses and Apollo, are among the most remarkable of Gaul. Their style, typical of the Severian era (late 2nd-early 3rd century), evokes a revival of mythological subjects. Alix Barbet, a specialist in Roman murals, highlights their rarity and quality, comparable to British ensembles of the fourth century. These decorations, combined with geometric and plant elements, reflect the luxury of local elites and their cultural ambitions.

The abandonment of the site is part of a context of economic regression and defensive decline of the city in the third century. The last traces of occupation, from the coins of Emperor Postume (260-269), precede the systematic recovery of materials to build the castrum enclosure around 275-276. Unlike other areas of Lisieux destroyed by fire, the villa was gradually deserted, perhaps in connection with the general decline of the Roman Gaul. The remains, now consolidated, form a public garden not frequented, adjacent to the hospital.

The protection of the remains was supported by the city of Lisieux and the Calvados department. The paintings, restored in Soissons, allowed to reconstruct nearly 25 panels, some of which were up to 8 m2. Despite the lack of complete publication of the excavations, as noted by Alix Barbet in 2008, the site remains a major testimony of Roman architecture and provincial art in Normandy. Its interest also lies in the coexistence of private housing and public facilities, reflecting the urban development of Noviomagus Lexoviorum.

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