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Origin and history

The Roman Way of the Fier Valley, located in Dingy-Saint-Clair (Haute-Savoie), is an ancient section of road along the Fier, classified as a historical monument in 1929. It crosses the Dingy parade, 30 meters above the river bed, and once crossed the Fier via a bridge today destroyed. Its layout could date from the reign of Emperor Claude (mid-first century), although its public or private status remains debated by historians.

The lapidary inscription, engraved in a mulled frame at the north-west entrance, attests that Lucius Tincius Paculus, a rich Allobroge, financed the construction of the bridge and the cutting of the rock to establish the track. Three empty niches, perhaps destined for votive altars, mark the route re-cut in limestone. Two other illegible inscriptions are marked on the wall, while a third, now lost, could have reproduced the commemorative text.

The track, about 120 meters long, combines a retaining wall, two arcades of 7 meters opening, and sections detailed in the rock (18.90 m and 26.60 m). On average, it is 4 metres wide and illustrates Roman techniques of road development in mountainous areas. Mentioned in the 16th century, it was first classified in 1900, before a new protection order in 1929.

The assumptions on its use differ: for Frédéric Lontcho, it was part of a public route between Seyssel and Aix-les-Bains, while Philippe Leveau saw it as a private route open to local use by his owner. Its layout, facing south-east/north-west, reflects the importance of communication axes in the Roman province of the Alps.

Today the communal property, the way and its inscription offer a rare testimony of road greening in Roman Gaul. Their exceptional state of conservation makes it possible to study construction practices and traffic networks in the region during the ancient period.

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