Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The archaeological remains of the Clos de la Lombarde, located at 28 rue Chanzy in Narbonne (Occitanie), form an exceptional Gallo-Roman complex discovered during excavations since 1973. The site reveals a residential area from the 1st to the 5th century, composed of two domus (House in Portiques and House at the Grand Triclinium), thermal baths, a salison workshop and a Paleo-Christian basilica. The updated mosaics and murals motivated its classification to historical monuments in 2007.

The first traces of occupation date back to 1910, with the discovery of sarcophagus during the digging of a well. In 1973, preventive excavations prior to the construction of a tax hotel revealed fragments of paintings and mosaics of the first and second centuries, as well as a basilica of the fourth and fifth centuries. The Ministry of Culture then acquires the land. The excavation campaigns (1974 et seq.) identified an abandoned area in the third century, probably due to barbaric invasions, and then reinvested for the basilica.

The House in Portiques (975 m2, late I century BC) inspired pumpy models, with an atrium and a peristyle housing the fresco with genius. The House at the Grand Triclinium (705 m2), adjacent, owes its name to a banquet room of 87 m2; A votive altar mentions Marcus Clodius Aestivo. The thermal baths (mid-first century), partially visible, and a salison workshop (abandoned in the first century) complete the whole.

The Paleo-Christian Basilica (late 4th century, 27.5 x 13.7 m) adopts an architecture close to Syrian buildings. Built outside the ramparts, it was abandoned in the fifth century. The site, managed by the state and the commune of Narbonne, is now open to the public by the association Les Amis du Clos de la Lombarde, although threatened by weather and vandalism (e.g. degradation of a mosaic in 2023).

The furniture elements (mosaic, frescoes) were exhibited at the Narbonne Archaeological Museum before their transfer in 2021 to the Narbo Via Museum, dedicated to the ancient Narbonne. The site, partially excavated, still contains four other houses and an unexplored workshop under the adjacent cemetery.

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