The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

city of Argentomagus was located in the Mersans plateau of central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, at the strategic point on the north bank of the river

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...

, where a Roman bridge once traversed. It was located at the crossing of two roads—''Cenabum'' (Orléans) to ''Augustoritum'' (Limoges), and ''Limonum'' (Poitiers) to ''Avaricum'' (Bourges). The Latin name of the city meant "Silver Market." The modern town of Argenton takes its name from the ancient site of Argentomagus.

History

In pre-Roman and early-Roman occupation times, the site of Argentomagus was the home of the

Bituriges The Gaulish name Bituriges, meaning 'kings of the world', can refer to: * Bituriges Cubi, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bourges * Bituriges Vivisci, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bordeaux {{Disambiguation ...

tribe (their name meaning "kings of the world"). The Romans conquered the area circa 50 BCE. The city reached its peak during the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

period in the 2nd and 3rd century CE. During the late Empire the

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

indicated a government arms factory in the city. At the end of the Classical period the population center relocated to the south bank and the original site was only lightly built on thereafter. The present-day village of Saint Marcel occupies only a small portion of the original location. Because of this Argentomagus is today an archaeological site of considerable significance. According to legend Saint Marcellus was beheaded under Valerian (253–260) for destroying idols. The cult of

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

was popular among the inhabitants, who were active in metal smelting and bronze-smithing. Other cult figures included the

Earth Mother A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or the ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, warrior heroes and various local deities.

Archaeological site and museum

Argenton-sur-Creuse (36) - Ruines du Château

The archaeological site is of prime interest as it shows how the town evolved from a

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

ish settlement into a Roman town. Substantial areas of the ruins have been excavated, including an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, a

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

, a cemetery, a thermal spring. Unique finds have also been recovered, such as a circular altar pedestal. A local museum related to the site exists in Mersans.

References

Sources

*"Argentomagus : Oppidum gaulois" by Françoise Dumasy-Mathieu *"Argentomagus": by Gerard Coulon *"Le théâtre d'Argentomagus" (Saint-Marcel, Indre): by Françoise Dumasy {{Coord, 46, 36, 1.40, N, 1, 30, 54.10, E, region:FR_type:landmark, display=title Roman towns and cities in France Former populated places in France Oppida Bituriges Cubi Gallia Aquitania