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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman Mausoleum of Rochemaure is a funerary building discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in 1982 and 1983. This research revealed a rectangular crypt (8.5 × 6.5 m), containing three graves whose contents had disappeared due to repeated looting. After the excavations, the site was blocked and covered by a parking lot located at the place called Les Faysses, on the cadastral plot AL 185. No trace of the aerial part of the monument remains today.

Carbon dating 14 established that the mausoleum was built in the third century during the Gallo-Roman period. Its underground architecture, although stripped of its funerary furniture, is of major interest for the study of the sepulchral practices of the era. The site was included in the inventory of historic monuments by order of 26 December 1984, thus recognizing its heritage value despite its fragmentary state.

Located in the department of Ardèche (region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), the mausoleum now belongs to the commune of Rochemaure. Its access is limited due to its location under an urbanized space, and its preservation depends on municipal choices. The available sources, including the reports of excavations published in 1983 by Patrick Porte, underline the importance of the site for the understanding of Gallo-Roman necropolises in the Ardèche territory.

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