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Key figures

Origin and history

The archaeological site of the Fâ in Barzan, Charente-Maritime, is an ancient Gallo-Roman port city of major importance, identified as Novioregum. Stunned since 1994, it reveals monumental remains: a circular temple 35 meters high, one of Gaul's largest thermal baths, a theatre 81 meters in diameter, warehouses (horrea) and a forum. The discoveries suggest a climax in the second century, under the Antonins, with a key role in trade between the Mediterranean and the British Islands.

The origins of the site date back to the Neolithic period, with traces of prehistoric habitats near La Garde Hill, confirmed by polished axes and ceramics dated 3,500 BC. In the Bronze Age, ditch fortifications protect a camp. The Santons, a Gallic people, established a sanctuary there in the 7th century BC, before the Roman conquest in 58 BC. The city then developed as an emporium (commercial counter), mentioned in the Itinerary of Antonin in the third century.

The decline of Novioregum began at the end of the third century for undetermined reasons, possibly linked to the siltation of the harbour. In the Middle Ages, its stones are reused in local constructions, such as the well margins or the baptismal fonts of the saving church. Rediscovered in the 19th century, the site was listed as a Historic Monument in 1937-1939. Jacques Dassié's aerial excavations in 1975 reveal a city of 140 hectares, comparable to Saintes or Poitiers.

Recent campaigns (1994-2017) exhumed the monumental temple of the Fâ, two Celtic fanums, thermal baths fed by a 16-metre well, and a theatre that can accommodate 5,000 spectators. The museum, opened in 2005 in a restored farm, exhibits a model of the city, remains and an interactive terminal. Current research, conducted by Laurence Tranoy and Alain Bouet, aims to understand urban planning and the cultural role of the "Grand Avenue", the main street of the city.

The ancient port, identified near the Combe du Rit, served as a commercial hub for tin between Brittany and the Mediterranean, as evidenced by Greek and Hispanic ceramics of the fifth century BC. The Roman routes linked Novioregum to Saintes (15 leagues) and Bordeaux (via Blaye), according to a Gaulish metric of 2,450 meters per league. The abandonment of the site coincides with the geographical transformations of the region, such as the siltation of the Gulfs of Saintonge and Seudre.

Today, the site is managed by the association ASSA Barzan and offers a dive into the port-commercial history of the Roman Gaul. The current excavations could shed light on the late ancient and medieval phases, revealing a Merovingian and Carolingian occupation unsuspected until the research of 2015-2017.

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