Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The archaeological site of Alba-la-Romane corresponds to the ancient Alba Helviorum, capital of the Gallic people of the Helven during the Roman Empire (I-IVth century). Founded in the Augustean period (27 B.C. – 14 A.D.), it reached its peak in the second century. The city, organized according to a Roman orthogonal plan (cardo and decumanus), housed a forum, a theatre of 3,000 squares, thermal baths, shrines and luxurious domuses. Its decline began in the third century, with the transfer of the episcopal seat to Viviers in the fifth century.

The excavations, initiated at the beginning of the 19th century by John-Paul Delichères and Honoré Flaugergues, and then relaunched before the Second World War, revealed an occupation prior to the Roman period, with traces of a protohistoric oppidum and habitat of La Tene III (I century BC). Alba was a commercial and religious hub, linked to the production of wine (mentioned by Pliny the Elder) and to artisanal corporations (drapiers, construction workers). Its gradual abandonment in the Middle Ages gave way to a new agglomeration.

The northern quarter of Bagnols housed a Gallo-Roman shrine dedicated to imperial worship, while the monumental centre ("The Palace") consisted of a forum, a quadriportic building and a curia. The theatre, unique in Gaul by crossing a stream, was rebuilt three times. The private thermal baths of La Planchette and the villa of the Delauzun field, decorated with mosaics, testify to the luxury of the local elites. The site of St Peter superimposed a pagan monument, a Christian martyrium and a medieval cathedral.

The Helvians, allies of Rome from the 2nd century BC (after the defeat of the Arvernes in 121 BC), enjoyed Latin law and administrative autonomy. Their territory, Helvie, covered southern Ardèche. The city, starting with routes to Valencia, Vienna or Lyon, declined with the crises of the third century. A modern museum (MuséAl, opened in 2013) now presents collections from the excavations, including gold stars discovered in the Basalt shrine.

The site, classified as Historic Monument (1986-2006), retains protected remains over 30 hectares, including aqueducts, masonated sewers and necropolises. Archaeological research, carried out notably by Marcel Le Glay and Roger Lauxerois, has helped to reconstruct his urban planning and his role in the Romanization of Narbonnaise. A Roman tombstone discovered in Bonn (Germany) attests to the mobility of legionaries from Alba Helviorum.

The local economy was based on agriculture, viticulture (reputed for a fast flowering grape variety) and handicrafts, as evidenced by the inscriptions mentioning corporations. Excavations also revealed imported objects (campanian ceramics, Italian amphora) and mosaics dated from the second to third centuries. The site, partially searched, continues to provide clues on the transition between the Gaulish world and Roman civilization in southern Gaul.

Future

A museum opened in October 2013.

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