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Origin and history

The ancient theatre of Tarquimpol, discovered in 1981 by aerial photography, is a major vestige of the Roman city of Decempagi (present-day Tarquimpol, Moselle). Built in the third century under the High Empire, this 117-metre-diameter monument, probably an arena theatre, could accommodate between 8,000 and 16,000 spectators. Its semicircular cellara and orchestra of 45 m in diameter suggest an entirely aerial structure, without natural support. The bleachers, now extinct, were supported by ring walls and radiating in caissons. Abandoned before the Lower Empire, he was partially dismantled to reuse his stones.

Decempagi, a stop on the Roman road Metz-Strasbourg, was a secondary agglomeration organized according to an orthogonal plan, including perhaps a temple and an urbanized area north of the present village, near the Lindre pond. The theatre, located outside the walls during the construction of the late enclosure (late 3rd–early 4th century), bears witness to the importance of the city as a regional centre. Its classification as historical monuments in 1930 (even before its rediscovery) protects the entire archaeological site, owned by the Moselle department.

The first records of the site date back to the 18th century thanks to the scholar Félix Le Royer de La Sauvagere, but his identification with Decempagi was established in 1843 by Jean-Louis Dugas de Beaulieu. The aerial excavations and prospecting since 1980 have revealed an unusual monument for the region, without equivalent in Lorraine by its size. The waste slabs found on site could come from the stands, while the absence of vomitory stones (vetched passages) remains a riddle. The theatre, probably built on old masonries, obliterates an earlier building 100 m long, attesting to an early occupation of the site.

The precise dating of the theatre remains uncertain, although its construction is associated with the Upper Empire (I–III century). Its abandonment coincides with the defensive retreat of the city to the Lower Empire, when the enclosure deliberately excludes the monument, a symbol of a past era. Stones, reused in local buildings, illustrate a common practice of material recycling in late antiquity. Today, the site, although not very detailed, offers a major archaeological potential to understand urbanization and cultural practices in Roman Gaul.

Ancient written sources, such as the Puisinger's Table and Antonin's Route, confirm the role of Decempagi as a city-stage on a strategic axis. The absence of Gaulish traces suggests an ex nihilo foundation under Augustus, typical of Roman secondary agglomerations. The theatre, dimensioned for a population far greater than that of the city, could indicate a sanctuary or a regional gathering place, hypothesis reinforced by the supposed presence of a nearby temple. Recent research, such as that of Deborah Sebag (2017), highlights the value of a diagnostic approach to this still unknown site.

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