Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The ancient theatre of Vendeuil-Caply is a Roman performance building located in the Oise region of Hauts-de-France. Ranked a historic monument since 1982, it is part of a vast Gallo-Roman site of 130 hectares, including a vicus (an antique town) and traces of a Gallic oppidum. This theatre, the capital of a pagus of the Bellovac civitas, bears witness to the importance of this agglomeration between the first and second centuries.

The site, nicknamed "Peru des Antiquaires" from the 17th century, was rediscovered gradually. Systematic excavations, conducted from 1956 to 1986 under the direction of Gérard Dufour, revealed two theatres: a small, modest theatre (first century) and a large theatre (late I-early II century) that could accommodate 4,000 spectators. The latter, rebuilt after a fire around 170-180, served as a refuge in the third century before being abandoned in the fifth century.

Archaeological research, initiated after aerial photographs of 1955, revealed sigillated pottery of La Graufesenque, a Roman road linking Beauvais to Paillart, and military defenses on the Catelet hill. In 2007, the Oise department became its owner, and an archaeological museum was inaugurated in 2011 near the site.

The theatre illustrates Gallo-Roman urbanization and its decline in the face of the invasions of the third century. Its gradual abandonment coincides with the displacement of the habitat to Vendeuil, where a church of Saint-Denis, now extinct, remained. The first written records of the remains date back to 1574, in a report for the Prince of Condé.

Among the key figures, Jacques Cambry (prefect of Oise in the 19th century) and Abbé Devic (1843) documented the site before modern excavations. Louvet, a local historian, had already observed the roads in the fields in the 17th century. The site, partially searched, remains a major testimony of the Roman Gaul in Picardia.

External links