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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The ancient site of Eysses, called Excisum in the Gallo-Roman era, is 1.5 km from the city centre of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, in Lot-et-Garonne. Its name, ad excisum fluvium ("at the cut-off of the river"), evokes its strategic position at the crossing of two major roads: a north-south road linking Aginnum (Agen) to Vesunna (Perigueux), and an east-west road between Divona (Cahors) and Burdigala (Bordeaux). The city, mentioned on the Table of Puisinger and the Itinerary of Antonin, extended over about 50 hectares and was active between the reigns of Tiberius and Hadrian.

The excavations revealed a central monumental ensemble, including a circular tower in small apparatus (11 m in diameter, 10 m in residual height), initially interpreted as a fanum or temple dedicated to Mars. Around a courtyard lined with shops, there was a curie (siège des magistraciers), a forum with exhedron, and pavilions connected by walls. Two funeral inscriptions and a military dump (arms, harnesses) suggest the presence of auxiliary soldiers, although no legionary camp was identified. Assumptions include a garrison post, a public school statio, or workshops manufacturing military equipment.

The decline of Excismum began in the third century, probably linked to Germanic invasions. Excavations (1971, 2013-2014) exhumed bronze workshops, sigulated ceramics, and High Empire coins. The artifacts are exhibited in the former presbytery of the Church of St. Sernin. The Roman tower, listed as a Historic Monument in 1926, and the site of the vicus (1997) bear witness to this past. Nearby, the Benedictine abbey of the 9th century (now a prison) and the church of Saint-Sernin highlight the historical continuity of the site.

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