Protohistoric traces Entre 359 et 172 av. J.-C. (≈ 100 av. J.-C.)
Home and post holes before the villa.
Ier–IIIe siècle
Occupation of the villa
Occupation of the villa Ier–IIIe siècle (≈ 350)
Period of peak with redevelopments.
1962
First excavations
First excavations 1962 (≈ 1962)
Survey by G. Lintz and Marius Vazeilles.
Fin du XIXe siècle
First discovery
First discovery Fin du XIXe siècle (≈ 1995)
Nero currency and site identification.
2006–2007
Modern search
Modern search 2006–2007 (≈ 2007)
Discovery of intact hypocaustes and pavements.
22 décembre 2015
Official protection
Official protection 22 décembre 2015 (≈ 2015)
Registration for Historic Monuments.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Ancient Villa du Champ du Palais: the remains of the villa as well as the soil of the corresponding plot containing archaeological remains, as represented in red on the plan annexed to the decree (Box B 1136): inscription by decree of 22 December 2015.
Key figures
Marius Vazeilles - Local scholar and archaeologist
Initiated the first research in 1962.
Guy Lintz - Archaeologist
Conducted a survey in 1962.
Hélène Mavéraud - Archaeologist
Responsible for the 2006-2007 excavations.
Origin and history
The Gallo-Roman villa of the Champ du Palais, located in Bugeat (Corrèze, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), is an architectural complex dating from the 1st to the 3rd century. This site, known since the 19th century, corresponds to the urban pars (residential part) of a Gallo-Roman agricultural estate. The remains, located 500 m from the village near the Pont des Rochers, include granite slabs, hypocaust systems (floor heating), and decorative elements such as painted coatings or capitals. The excavations, carried out in the 1960s and again in 2006-2007 and 2020, revealed continuous occupation and redevelopment, as well as archaeological furniture (ceramics, metal objects) attesting to a luxurious habitat.
Discoveries include a paved gallery lined with a gutter, rooms heated by hypocauste with granite piles (supports) – a rare feature – and a lime tray used for construction. In 2020, the excavations revealed a 250 m2 western wing with a service yard and a praefurnium (home) feeding the heating system. The site, partially looted as a stone quarry, was listed at the Historic Monuments in 2015 to preserve its remains and archaeological soil.
Before Romanization, traces of a protohistoric foyer (between 359 and 172 B.C.) were identified on the site, suggesting an occupation prior to the villa. It illustrates the development of light land on the plateaus of the Correzian "Mountain" during the antiquity, with a dense network of villæ spaced about one kilometre away. Comparisons with the Villa des Cars (at 8 km) show architectural similarities, such as paved courtyards and stone walls, reflecting a standardization of Roman rural habitats in the region.
The excavations also revealed separate construction phases: two initial rooms and a third, later added with a hypocauste, indicating redevelopments. The furniture (siculated ceramics, glasses, nails) and the structures (painted coating, red sandstone) bear witness to a careful decor, characteristic of the Gallo-Roman rural elites. The toponym "Champ du Palais" also evokes, as elsewhere in Limousin, aristocratic residences (palatium), although the villa of Bugeat probably belonged to an easy landowner rather than an imperial dignitary.
The site, owned by the municipality, remains partially unexplored, in particular its pars rustica (agricultural part) supposed to the east. Recent research (2020) has confirmed the use of local materials (granite) and Roman techniques (tailstone, hypocauste), while emphasizing the intensive recovery of materials at the end of antiquity, possibly linked to the decline of the countryside in the third century. Today, the protected remains offer valuable insight into rural life in Roman Gaul, between farming and domestic comfort.
