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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Roman theatre of Soissons, built in the second half of the first century in Augusta Suessionum (now Soissons), was the cultural heart of the Suessiones Civitas. Gallo-Roman architectural masterpiece, its 144-metre-diameter cellar and half-moon foothills illustrated an advanced technical mastery. The monument, dismantled as early as the third century to reuse its stones (especially in the enclosure of the Lower Empire and perhaps the church of Saint-Pierre-au-Parvis), gradually disappeared from the landscape, leaving only a topographical anomaly in the present park of the Lycée Saint-Rémy.

The first records of "Roman ruins" on Saint John Hill date back to the 16th century, then interpreted as a temple or fortification. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century, after fortuitous discoveries during the construction of the major seminary, that the site was identified as a theatre. Systematic excavations, conducted in the 1840s by Jules de La Prairie and his students, revealed structures such as the pulpitum, while a 2010 geophysical campaign clarified his plan and uncovered cellars reusing the walls of the stands. No major search has taken place since then.

Ranked a historic monument since 1875, the theatre does not show any vestiges in elevation today, but its half-moon footprint remains visible in the landscape. Its stage wall, perpendicular to the rue du Théâtre-Romain, recalls its integration into the ancient city, close to a road connecting Soissons to Durocortorum (Reims). An association now offers guided tours to enhance this buried heritage, symbol of Gallo-Roman radiation in northern Gaul.

Archivist and archaeological studies, such as those of Albert Grenier or Edward Fleury, highlight his role in Swedish public life. The theatre, a gathering and performing venue, reflected Roman influence on local elites. Its decline, linked to the recovery of materials, bears witness to the urban transformations between late antiquity and the Middle Ages, where pagan monuments became quarries of stones for new Christian constructions.

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