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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Gallo-Roman villa of Coux is a collection of ancient remains located in the commune of Auzances, in the department of Creuse (Nouvelle-Aquitaine). The site, located in the north of the village, in the valley of a tributary of the Cher, bears witness to a continuous occupation between the 1st and the 3rd century AD. Two distinct areas were identified: a thermal area equipped with hypocaustes and heated pools, and a residential area organized around a central courtyard. A dump pit and a drain complete the facilities discovered.

The archaeological excavations, carried out in part in 1987-1988, revealed these structures. The site was protected by an inscription as historic monuments on 27 June 1991, recognizing its heritage importance. The remains, whether exhumed or buried, now belong to the municipality of Auzances. Their state of conservation and their precise location (cadastre A 59, 76, 81, 251) are documented in the Mérimée bases and the Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.

The villa illustrates the lifestyle of local Gallo-Roman elites, combining domestic comfort (private baths) and integration into a wider rural network. Its abandonment in the third century coincided with the political and economic upheavals that marked this period in Gaul. The objects and structures discovered, like the hypocaustes, underline the influence of Roman techniques in the region, then integrated into the province of Aquitaine.

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