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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman ruins of Montcaret correspond to the remains of an aristocratic villa excavated between 1921 and 1939. Classified as a historic monument in 1926 and 1935, this villa of the 4th and 5th centuries is distinguished by its figurative mosaics, its private baths and a central courtyard surrounded by galleries. The excavations, led by Jules Formigé and Pierre Tauziac, revealed three phases of construction, including a first occupation from the first century, followed by reconstruction in the fourth century after destruction attributed to barbaric incursions. The mosaics, partially restored, decorate reception rooms and a swimming pool decorated with marine motifs (fish, shells), rare in the West of Gaul.

The site, located on a hill 30 metres above sea level near the Dordogne, enjoyed a strategic position: in the shelter of floods, close to resurgent springs and an ancient road linking Burdigala (Bordeaux) to Vesunna (Perigueux). The fortuitous discoveries of the 19th century, like mosaics reused in a washhouse or ancient tombs exhumed by Abbé Delpeyrat, alerted archaeologists. The systematic excavations also uncovered wine vats from the 5th or 6th century, attesting to late occupation and commercial ties with the East (Gaza amphoras).

The interpretation of the site has evolved: initially considered a public thermal complex by Formigé, it is now identified as a private villa, with residential spaces, thermal baths, and agricultural outbuildings. The apse rooms and the cruciform room, with hypocaustes, illustrate the luxury of the aquitaine houses of late antiquity. Merovingian and medieval graves, dug in the remains, suggest a reuse of the site as a place of Christian worship. The Tauziac collection, given to the State, gathers objects discovered before and during excavations, although their exact origin is sometimes uncertain.

The visible remains are organized around a central garden courtyard, bordered by colonnade galleries. In the west, the reception rooms (350 m2) and the cruciform room, with geometric mosaics, contrast with the wing is dedicated to the thermal baths. The swimming pool, decorated with sixteen mosaic panels depicting marine animals, and a white marble bathtub, testify to the refinement of private baths. Remediation problems, which were revealed by channels obstructing the hypocaustes, marked the end of the site's occupation.

The additional excavations (1947-1966) specified the chronology: three states of construction were identified, with major alterations in the fourth century. The mosaics, restored in the 1950s, are now protected by shelters. The adjacent museum exhibits objects from the excavations, including sigillated ceramics stamped Eppiae (I-II century) and coins from the Antonines to the Constantinians. The site, open to the visit, offers an exceptional overview of the domestic architecture and lifestyles of the Gallo-Roman elite in Aquitaine.

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