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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman theatre in Gennes is an atypical performance building, combining the characteristics of a theatre and a Roman amphitheater. Built in the second century, it is part of an ancient secondary agglomeration of 20 hectares, including thermal baths, aqueduct and habitats. Its architectural style, blending rubble and tiles, is typical of Gallo-Roman rural buildings. The excavations, carried out between 1862 and 1901, revealed wooden stands and merovingian sarcophagus, attesting to a later funeral reuse.

Placed on a valley to exploit natural topography, the monument reduces masonry requirements. Oriented to avoid the glare of spectators, he follows Vitruve's recommendations. Its semicircular cellar, with a diameter of 94 m, could accommodate 5,000 people, with spaces reserved for notables. The elliptical arena (43.60 × 38.55 m) was bordered by a wall-podium and service corridors, including a drainage system (eripe).

The site, frequented until the fourth century, then declined, although late objects were found there. In the Merovingian era, it became a place of burial. Signed in 1837, it was searched by the French Archaeology Society before being classified as a historical monument in 1986. Today, it is a communal property that bears witness to the importance of secondary agglomerations in Roman Gaul, often with hybrid monuments such as this theatre-amphitheater.

Gennes is also one of the locations proposed for Robrica, an uncertain stage between Tours (Caesarodunum) and Angers (Juliomagus) on the Puisinger table. This old network and the presence of thermal baths, a nymph and a water sanctuary (attested by Michel Provost) suggest a dynamic agglomeration, linked to exchanges and Gallo-Roman religious life.

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