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Origin and history

The Roman villa of Chiragan, located in Martres-Tolosane (Haute-Garonne, Occitanie), is one of the most remarkable Gallo-Roman sites in France. Occupied from the 1st to the 4th century, it was distinguished by its monumental architecture and carved decoration, including busts of emperors and mythological reliefs. The excavations, initiated in the 17th century and systematized in the 19th century by Alexandre Du Mège, revealed hundreds of statues and architectural elements, today exhibited at the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse.

The site, initially modest under Auguste, experienced three phases of expansion, reaching an area of 16 hectares under the Antonins. Its destruction in the fifth century, attributed to the barbaric invasions, was followed by centuries of looting as a quarry of materials. The remains, buried under farmland, were partially protected in 1998. The discoveries include a gallery of emperors, reliefs of the Hercules Works (only in the world), and copies of Greek works, bearing witness to the prestige of its owners, perhaps imperial procurators or Maximian Hercules.

The 19th century excavations, led by Du Mège then Léon Joulin, revealed a luxurious urban pars (thermal, portico, courtyard) and a rustica agricultural and artisanal pars (1 000 ha exploited, 400 inhabitants). The marbles, local (Saint-Béat) or imported (Carrare), still ask questions about their polychromy, studied since 2020. The Museum of Martres-Tolosane, installed in a medieval dungeon, exhibits copies of original works, while the originals, often mutilated, raise debates about their deliberate or accidental destruction.

The identity of the owners remains enigmatic. An inscription mentions Caius Aconius Taurus (II century), suggesting a villa Aconiana, but hypotheses also evoke an imperial palace linked to Maximien Hercules. The sculptures, including busts of Septime Sévère or Marc Aurèle, reflect an elitist culture, while the reliefs of Hercules, dated the third century, illustrate religious syncretism. The site, classified as Historical Monument in 1998, remains a major milestone to understand Gallo-Roman aristocracy and its art.

Current issues include the attribution of certain sculptures (some may be alien to the site), the origin of marbles, and the exact function of the villa: agricultural estate, imperial residence, or place of collection. Recent studies, such as the POLYCHROMA project, analyze traces of pigments on marbles, while geophysical surveys (2000–2003) confirm the plan established by Joulin in 1901, despite the absence of visible remains today.

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