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Origin and history

Mediolanum de Malain, founded in 70 BC, was a major Gallo-Roman city in the Lingon civitas, located on the southern border of their territory, opposite the Eduans. Its name, Mediolanum (from the Middle Gauls- "central" and -lanon " plain" or "sacred place"), suggests a role of religious or political center, perhaps a central sanctuary for the tribe. The excavations reveal an agglomeration extending over more than 200 hectares in the first and second centuries, with traces of flourishing trade, notably via the then navigable Ouche, connecting the Saône and the Rhone. Amphorae and fragments attest to imports of Greek, Italian (Etrus) and Lyonan wines.

In the 11th century, the lords of Malain-Sombernon built a fortress on the rocky spur overlooking the village, marking the transition to the Middle Ages. The castle, divided in 1422 between two heirs, Jeanne and Catherine de Bourgogne-Montaigu, will not be reunited until 1654 by Nicolas II Brulart de La Borde, before being abandoned. The Gallo-Roman site, on the other hand, includes remarkable remains: a sanctuary dedicated to Mars Cicolluis (with fanum, exhedra, aqueduct and thermal baths), inscriptions, and cultural objects (altars, columns). These discoveries, particularly at the place called La Boussière (registered with the Historical Monuments in 1992) confirm the religious and economic importance of Mediolanum.

The archaeological site also contains traces of older occupation, such as the Devil's Hole Cave, where neolithic ceramics and ancient bronze vases were exhumed. Malain's topography, with its rare surface hercynian crystalline base (migmatites), and its former gypsum farms (until the beginning of the 20th century), adds a unique geological dimension. The Gallo-Roman city declines after the third century, but its legacy persists in toponymy and remains, now protected and studied by the Mesmontois Archaeological Group.

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