Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman site of the Boissières, located in Taden on the right bank of the Rance, is a vast archaeological complex dated from the end of the 1st to the end of the 4th century. It includes a large building 96 meters long by 46 meters wide, as well as ancillary structures such as warehouses, temples, and traces of a possible thermal establishment. The remains, partially preserved under slopes, include hypocaustes, painted coatings, ceramics and coins, suggesting a dense occupation related to trade and river transport to Corseul, via the Roman way Corseul-Avranche.

The first observations of the site date back to the early 19th century, with descriptions of small apparatus walls destroyed during the widening of the haulage road in 1840. In 1846, a press article referred to a potential thermal establishment, while in 1884, M. de Tremaudan conducted excavations. From 1975 onwards, aerial prospections led by Loïc Langouët revealed the partial plan of the main building and two adjacent temples. These discoveries confirm the hypothesis of a vicus (small agglomeration) with commercial and harbour vocation, active for almost four centuries.

The site, fully protected by order of 14 March 2000, covers several parcels, including D 647 and portions of D 1485 and 1487, over a 100-metre strip from the haulage road. The remains, now partially visible, bear witness to the strategic importance of Rance as an axis of communication and exchange during the Gallo-Roman era. The location near a major Roman way and the density of the structures suggest a key role in regional supply, especially for the ancient city of Corsicaul (Fanum Martis).

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