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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac, located in Montreal-du-Gers in Gers (Occitanie), is a major archaeological site discovered in the 19th century. It extends on a plateau at 135 meters above sea level, near the Auzoue and Argentans rivers, avoiding flooding and humidity. This strategic place is about a dozen kilometers from the ancient ancient city of Elusa (Eauze), highlighting its regional importance.

The site could be discovered in 1864 when a farm was built. In 1868 Abbé Monnier, parish priest of Labarrère, discovered a mosaic and asked for funds for excavations. Serious campaigns were carried out before 1914, and the site was abandoned until the 1950s. In 1959, Paulette Aragon-Launet, inspired by her father's accounts of the 1911 excavations, revived the research. In 1966, she founded an association that led the summer excavations for thirty years (1967)-1997, before the commune of Montréal-du-Gers n.

The site is famous for its polychrome mosaics, attributed to the School of Aquitaine and dated between the end of the fourth and the middle of the fifth century. These works, covering 625 m2, decorated the reception and circulation spaces of the villa. Restored from the 1990s, they are now protected by a translucent structure of 2,070 m2. Among them, the mosaic with trees (420-440) is distinguished by its artistic originality. Other objects, such as a bronze toe (disappeared) or Pyrenean marble capitals, testify to the richness of the site.

Occupied almost a millennium, the site evolves from a modest local in the first century to a villa enlarged in the second and fourth centuries. In the sixth century, a Baptistery was built there, reflecting the implantation of Christianity. The villa, structured around a courtyard-garden of 30 meters side, includes domestic spaces, thermal baths (with tepidarium and caldarium), and reception rooms. After its decline, the ruins served as a necropolis between the eighth and eleventh centuries.

Ranked a historic monument in 1978 (with extensions in 2012 and 2014), Séviac has been integrating the archaeological pole Elusa Capitale Antique since 2008. The excavations revealed everyday objects (oil lamps, fibules, tools) and fragments of statuettes, such as an anadyomen Venus or a putto. These artifacts, exposed temporarily, illustrate the aristocratic and artisanal life of the villa.

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