Origin and history
The archaeological site of the Vernay, in Saint-Romain-de-Jalionas (Isère), is a major complex covering the Gaulish period in late antiquity. Its heart is a Gallo-Roman villa of the Lower Empire, listed as historical monuments in 1984. This rural palace, with an unusual area of 2.5 hectares for residential buildings, includes thermal baths with hypocauste, a 20x6 meter swimming pool, a rare hydraulic mill, and a sophisticated sewer system. The estate, surrounded by a 20-hectare enclosure, was crossed by a pebble road and a stream integrated into the sanitation system. The excavations also revealed hemp rolling areas attesting to diversified agricultural activities.
The villa succeeds an aristocratic Gallic farm, transformed around 40 BC into a Roman residence according to Roman architectural cannons (stones masonated, tiles, mortar floors), while retaining a Gaulish dishes, suggesting Romanized allobrogous owners. Between 15 A.D. and the 5th century, the site evolved into a luxurious palace — central heating, Christian chapel in the 4th century — despite its unsuitable marshy location. Its decline came about 450, after resisting the invasions and the decline of the Empire. In the Middle Ages, a small farm and a parish cemetery succeeded him, with the erection of a Delphinal castle in the 12th century, now extinct.
The first discoveries date back to the 19th century, when the local parish priest reported statues and mosaics in the cemetery. In 1967, works revealed a wall and amphora containing a child skeleton, triggering excavations by amateurs like Roger Pinet, then Aloys Dufourg in the 1970s. Scientific campaigns began in 1985, led by Robert Royet (regional curator of archaeology), with annual excavations since 1995. The site, managed by the association AHASRJ, offers guided tours and a Roman experimental garden since 2018, recreating ancient cultures and techniques (rucher, well, ancient varieties). In 2025, metal looting was reported.
The Vernay is distinguished by its geographical isolation — on the edge of a 50-hectare marsh — and its disproportionate luxury for a rural estate. The assumptions suggest a wealthy owner of Vienna or Lyon, perhaps a merchant or politician, although his identity remains unknown. The site, close to major routes to Lyon and Vienna in Antiquity, illustrates the adaptation of the Gaulish elites to Roman lifestyles, combining agricultural exploitation (wheat, barley, vine) and prestige symbols. Today, he visits himself freely via an educational path, with workshops during Heritage and Archaeology Days.
The excavations exhumed traces of the Bronze Age and Gaulish life, confirming a continuous occupation. The fourth century Christian chapel, integrated into the villa, becomes the present parish church, surrounded by a medieval cemetery. The Delphinal Castle (XII-15 centuries), now ruined, was backed by the church and surrounded by moat. Abandoned in the 16th century, the site preserves only the church, still in use despite its isolation. Current research, conducted by volunteers under Robert Royet, focuses on archaeological furniture (cleaning, indexing) and local prospecting.
The ancient experimental garden, inspired by the treatises of Caton, Columelle and Pliny the Old, tests Roman cultures and techniques (tools, wells, beehives in trunk or straw). This educational project aims to rebuild the agricultural economy of the area, while raising public awareness. Guided tours, organized twice a year (Heritage Days, Visit the Gardens), include practical workshops. The site, although looted in 2025, remains a remarkable example of cultural and technical adaptation between the Gallic and Roman worlds, in an atypical rural context.
Announcements
Please log in to post a review