The decor used for the stage background illustrates the scene’s wall, frons scaena, which does not exist anymore in in anymore exist not does which scaena, frons wall, scene’s the illustrates background stage the for used decor The

. Lillebonne of Theatre Roman the in Horace of representation 20th-century Early

(photo Y. Deslandes) Deslandes) Y. (photo

natural slope of the hill to its needs. its to hill the of slope natural

near Lillebonne. near de la -Maritime la de

The construction of the theatre adapted the the adapted theatre the of construction The in the forest forest the in a inside villa

Département du Président

was discovered discovered was mosaic

Pascal MARTIN Pascal Toupin hill southwards. hill Toupin in the 19 the in Century, this this Century,

th

of Antiquities, in Rouen in Antiquities, of northwards and in its centre, and by the the by and centre, its in and northwards

preserved in the Museum Museum the in preserved

from an ideal topography, with a flat area area flat a with topography, ideal an from

Lillebonne’s mosaic, mosaic, Lillebonne’s

historical monument. historical The installation of the monument benefited benefited monument the of installation The

respect as an illustrious illustrious an as respect

house.

also to show it some some it show to also

confirmed by the excavations of the scene scene the of excavations the by confirmed

educational animations ; animations ; educational

to South. These measurements should be be should measurements These South. to

to some cultural and and cultural some to

94.70 m (300 to 320 Roman feet) from North North from feet) Roman 320 to (300 m 94.70

appreciated by the Gallo-Roman spectators. Gallo-Roman the by appreciated purpose by playing host host playing by purpose

East to West (360 Roman feet) and 88.8 m to to m 88.8 and feet) Roman (360 West to East

) which were well well were which ) ( hunts the venationes its former and prime prime and former its

Its general dimensions are 106.56 m from from m 106.56 are dimensions general Its

games as well as the gladiator games and and games gladiator the as well as games to this spectacle venue venue spectacle this to

of the town during the first three centuries AD. centuries three first the during town the of

of Lillebonne housed the traditional scenic scenic traditional the housed Lillebonne of missions is to give back back give to is missions

which the theatre) reflects the importance and prosperity prosperity and importance the reflects theatre) the which

coexisted allows one to think that the theatre theatre the that think to one allows coexisted One of our Department’s Department’s our of One

(among (among found ruins ancient the of quality The in situ in

The fact that the arena and the stage stage the and arena the that fact The

we need to uncover. to need we

town’s localization on the last river pass. river last the on localization town’s

elements were identified on several occasions. several on identified were elements is still holding secrets holding still is

or Southerner populations, which was made easier by the the by easier made was which populations, Southerner or

road, it was never excavated, but some of its its of some but excavated, never was it road, rest of , the theatre theatre the Gaul, of rest

(Great-Britain), also on the River Seine with Central Gaul Gaul Central with Seine River the on also (Great-Britain),

Localized underneath the departmental departmental the underneath Localized (Great-Britain) and the the and (Great-Britain)

strategic communication nexus for trades with with trades for nexus communication strategic Britannia Britannia

between

Britannia

benefit greatly from the natural light. natural the from greatly benefit

on a a on capital their implant to chose (Caletes) Juliobona

and cultural exchanges exchanges cultural and

The scene house was installed northwards to to northwards installed was house scene The the Romans, the by Gaul of pacification the After Caleti

commercial trading trading commercial

THE SCENE HOUSE SCENE THE

the nerve centre of of centre nerve the (tribe) of the Caletes. the of (tribe) the of civitas

was was when Juliobona , built in honour of , was the capital capital the was Caesar, Julius of honour in built , Juliobona

shaped corridor. shaped

As a witness of a period period a of witness a As

which covered the ring- the covered which cavea summa in , succeeded the Roman town of Juliobona. of town Roman the succeeded Normandy,

DIMENSIONS

a by complemented was monument porticus site. Lillebonne, situated near the mouth of the River Seine, in in Seine, River the of mouth the near situated Lillebonne,

overhanging the ground of the arena. The The arena. the of ground the overhanging to access this prestigious prestigious this access to

road and Place Félix Faure. Félix Place and road

; these remains are still 19m 19m still are remains these ; the cavea cavea allowing today the public public the today allowing

unearthed, underneath the departmental departmental the underneath unearthed,

Avranches

metres higher than today’s remains of of remains today’s than higher metres been running since 2007, 2007, since running been

Ingena

) still still ) (  Scaena frons Scaena a scene house house scene a •

TES

N

Possibly, the original walls were several several were walls original the Possibly, ‡ of Seine-Maritime have have Seine-Maritime of

EBUROVIQUES RIC

B

†

Le Vieil-Evreux Le

LERQUES

Gisacum  an arena, an • works the Department Department the works

Evreux

embankments.

VIDUCASSES Mediolanum - Aulercorum - Mediolanum

important restoration restoration important

Vieux-la-Romaine

benches for the spectators); the for benches BAJOCASSES

Aregenua

supported by the masonries and the the and masonries the by supported

Seine

Noviomagus

excavations and some some and excavations

LEXOVIENS (the whole whole (the  cavea the hemicycle of the the of hemicycle the •

Bayeux

the arena, on the flat area. It is exclusively exclusively is It area. flat the on arena, the Augustodorum

VÉLIOCASSES

for its archaeological archaeological its for

Rouen

internal circulation internal The second part of the cavea was made, like like made, was cavea the of part second The

Rotomagus U

NE

LLES Lillebonne is famous famous is Lillebonne

Lillebonne

entrances and exits as well as the the as well as exits and entrances

Valognes

BELLOVAQUES Juliobonna

Alauna the Roman theatre of of theatre Roman the embankments on top of the hill the of top on embankments

managing all all managing  a surrounding gallery gallery surrounding a •

Roman Antiquity, Antiquity, Roman The upper part was built with walls and and walls with built was part upper The CÈTES

: with composed is It history.

As a local symbol of of symbol local a As

Eu (Le bois l’abbé) bois (Le Eu

Briga of the hill. the of

underwent several changes in the course of of course the in changes several underwent

Carte des civitates (tribus romaines) (tribus civitates des Carte

, leans against the natural slope natural the against leans , cavea

building in Northern . Its architecture architecture Its France. Northern in building

ˆBIENS

The first part of the hemicycle with benches, benches, with hemicycle the of part first The vastest and the best preserved spectacle spectacle preserved best the and vastest

THE HEMICYCLE, CAVEA HEMICYCLE, THE

The antique theatre of Lillebonne is the the is Lillebonne of theatre antique The CAPITAL OF THE CALETES THE OF CAPITAL

DESCRIPTION OF THE EDIFICE THE OF DESCRIPTION JULIOBONA, EDITORIAL

THE END OF THE THEATRE THE VESTIGES : The monument lost its purpose as a Many documents dated between the Middle spectacle venue c. the late 3rd Century AD. Ages and the 18th Century allude to the site, All exits were nailed up with large cut but it was studied only in the 19th Century. limestone blocks. Then, it was turned into • 1764 : the Comte de Caylus identified a fortress, more useful in those troubled the site. times, facing some barbarian incursions. • 1792 : the site was sold as a national property. THE SPECTACLES : • 1812-1841 : the ruins were cleared In the arena, the program of several during the excavations directed by spectacles was based on the time of the day François Rever, then by Emmanuel In the morning, the hunts or venationes : Gaillard and finally by Achille Deville. the wild animals were released in the arena, • 1818 : The General Council of the then hunted. A decor would often recall Seine-Inférieure (former Department the natural environment of the animals. of Seine-Maritime) purchased the site Some references to some exotic animals to ensure its study and its protection. (lions, panthers, giraffes, rhinoceroses, • 1840 : the theatre was classified as a etc.) and to some more common species historical monument. (rabbits, boars, bulls, etc.) were found. The site was abandoned in the second Performances including the most dangerous half of the 19th Century. and exotic beasts were undoubtedly the • 1906-1974 : some excavations and most appreciated. restoration works succeeded each other intermittently. At midday, the ludi meridianii : various games consisted in distracting the • 2007-today : the site is still being spectators, like today’s first part of shows. studies. During these entr’actes, the actors were THÉÂTRE ROMAN disguised, and played some comic parts or mimicked some executions. In the afternoon, the munera : some gladiator fights (lat. gladiatores “fighters with a sword”). These fights always started with an ave and OF LILLEBONNE ■ the verification of the equipment by the rudis Visitor’s guide — (arbitrator), and ended with one of the fighters’ exhaustion, wound or death. The gladiator who was losing the fight could raise his hand or a finger - the duration of the fight was called ad digitum -, and beg for his missio, which means that he had the Statuette of a Thracian possibility to ask to be spared. gladiator begging for his missio, found in Lillebonne Some breaks could happen during the fights (1841). 2nd to 3rd C. AD. allowing the spectacle to last longer. Museum of Antiquities, Rouen : No. inv. 391 (A)

Informations — [email protected] ou 02 35 15 69 11 du lundi au vendredi. www.theatrelillebonne.fr Conception et réalisation : Département de la Seine-Maritime / Direction de la Communication et de l'Information DO YOU SPEAK ROMAN?

 CAVEA : the cavea was constituted with 4 THE �RENA : as it was elliptically shaped 7 THE VOMITORIA : the vomitoria were the 8 THE SURROUNDING GALLERY : the the hemicycle of benches for the spectators. northwards and circular southwards, the side entrances of theatres and amphitheatres surrounding gallery or ring-shaped corridor It was divided into three parts or ou maeniana arena was restricted by the podium’s wall. allowing the public to access easily to the provided access to the various vomitoria (groups of benches) where the public would Its big axis was about 47.30 m (160 Roman benches and, more importantly, providing leading the spectators to the areas reserved be seated according to their social rank : feet) and the small axis about 35.50 m (120 thousands of spectators an easy way out for them. In Lillebonne, this vaulted gallery Roman feet). At the centre of the southern after the spectacles. Etymologically, this supporting the porticus in summa cavea was • the ima, the lower part of the cavea was part, ending the small axis of the arena, was word comes from the Latin verb vomere, added when the last level of the theatre was reserved for the city’s magistrates the sacellum, a cult venue for some sacred figuratively meaning “to oust, to put out”. built, in the early 3rd Century AD, in order • the media, in the middle, was for the celebrations during the spectacles. In some The vomitoria was different from the mains to raise the benches and to increase the middle classes amphitheatres, a channel called euripo was entrances, situated on the axes of the arena. accommodation facilities of the monument. • the summa cavea, up the hemicycle, cut in between the podium and the arena to -eastwards and north-westwards, a received the popular classes prevent the animals from passing through. complex organization of entrances and exits, completed with some staircases, led to the Inside the arena, northward the oriental axial In Lillebonne, the stone structures of the gallery from the centre of the town. cavea, partially cleared but not excavated entrance, was a small thermal building dating already, have not been studied yet. back to the period when the theatre was rd The summit of the cavea was topped by a reused after its abandonment in the late 3 covered gallery, supported by some columns Century AD. or pilasters, the porticus in summa cavea. 5 THE STAGE : the scene inside the theatre SCHÉM D’UN THÉÂTRE NTIQUE 2 BENCHES : the area reserved for the of Lillebonne is still buried underneath the spectators was divided into several sections, road and Place Felix Faure. Some parts of called maeniana, separated horizontally the pulpitum and of the stage background Frons scænæ by some open pathways (praecinctiones) wall were detected several times by the cavea archaeologists in the 20th and vertically by some small walls (baltei) Century. The stage Porticus containing many open . Staircases background wall can be localized about 13 m converging on the arena eased the circulation from the northern limit of the present site. inside the maenianum. The space between præcinctiones two stair flights was called cuneus"" 6 THE AXIAL ENTRANCES : Two monumental entrances, eastwards and Cuneus 3 PODIUM : the first maenianum and the westwards, allowed getting to the first arena were separated by the podium forming podium and the arena: the first entrance led a great ring around the arena. The latter was to the aditus maximus, near the arena, and baltei the second one to the vomitoria, near the itself surrounded by a wall in order to protect Aditus the public from the performances that were first podium reserved for the authorities. These entrances presented a monumental Maximus taking place there. The terrace of the podium Podium supported only a few tiers of larger and lower façade revealed by some large cut stones and seats for the authorities. What is particular the carved lapidary unearthed. The axial arena with Lillebonne’s cavea is that it had two entrance was for pedestrians only, whereas Pulpitum superposed podia, built in two separate the western one allowed the cars to get inside orchestra periods, in order to raise the benches and to the premises. Another entrance, smaller but increase their accommodation facilities. of equal importance, was at the southern extremity of the small axis, on top of the hill, Prœscænium which allowed getting inside the theatre from outside the town by taking some roads on the summa cavea media cavea ima cavea edges of the site.

PLAN DU THÉÂTRE ROMAIN DE LILLEBONNE (d’après les données connues en 2014)

Mur de Scène Entrée actuelle Coulisses Parascænium Scænæ Frons Coulisses Parascænium

N ᕥ

O E Scène Proscænium

S

Entrée axiale ouest Arena Entrée axiale Est ᕦ Aditus Maximus Aditus Maximus ᕦ Entrée antique Arène (seuil de la porte monumentale) zone réservée au spectacle Marches médiévales Couloir d’accès vomitorium Couloir d’accès vomitorium ᕤ ᕣ podium podium

ᕢ

Gradins Cuneus ᕧ cavea ᕡ ensemble de la LÉGENDE zone dédiée au spectateur Accès réservé aux participants au spectacle Couloir d’accès vomitorium Gradins Voies de circulation Cuneus du public État originel du théâtre Gradins er

(milieu du I siècle) ᕨ Cuneus vomitorium

Ajouts de la fin du Ier siècle d’accès Couloir Entrée axiale Sud G e ale n Modifications du II siècle rie périphé circulatio rique de 2009 zone fouillée en Transformations du IIIe siècle ᕦ

Zone non fouillée

LES VESTIGES ALLOWED • THE MONUMENT'S FIRST STEP is repre- surrounding gallery. Dating back to the 1st raised cavea and the porticus in summa sented by the circular walls situated inside Century AD cavea. So, the last step of the theatre was THE IDENTIFICATION OF AT ND adapted to the pre-existing structures and the arena. • , a surroun- IN THE LATE 2 CENTURY AD integrated into the architectural organization LEAST THREE SUCCESSIVE ding gallery was built to create a new • LA CAVEA OF THE SECOND STEP stopped at of the ancient town at the same time. CONSTRUCTION STEPS the inner concentric wall of the third step’s extension; it was covered by the top of the