The Roman-Gaul Baths of Entrammes (''Thermes gallo-romains d'Entrammes'' in French) is a complex of

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 ...

thermal baths (''

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

'') in

Entrammes Entrammes () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. It is located about west of Parné-sur-Roc and about south of Laval Entrammes Airport in Laval. History Entrammes owes its location to a major ford across the river ...

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...

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 ...

. The baths were partially incorporated into a church with the

hypocaust A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...

surviving below the new structure. The remains were discovered in 1987.

History

The thermal site was discovered in 1987.

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

surveys were done to reassess the church of

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, a building which dates back to Roman times. A

in good condition was found below the church, confirming the presence of a thermal site of the 2nd century.

Access and conservation

Since 1 September 1988 the baths have been classified as a

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

. Tours are organised by the local tourism office.

Gallery

Image:Mayenne Entrammes thermes.JPG, The entrance's wall Image:Mayenne Entrammes hypocauste.JPG, The

Image:Mayenne Entrammes église.JPG, Parish Church

References

Bibliography

* Jacques Naveau (2002). ''Entrammes, Mayenne, les thermes gallo-romains'' in "Arts, Recherches et créations" (published by Revue 303) * Jacques Naveau (1992). La Mayenne, 53: carte archéologique de la Gaule () * Jacques Naveau (1991); ''Les thermes romains d'Entrammes''; Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Mayenne. Laval

External links

Bath's page in the Mayenne Site (in French)
{{coord, 48, 01, 23, N, 00, 46, 11, W, type:landmark_scale:10000, format=dms, display=title Ancient Roman baths in France Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century Monuments historiques of Pays de la Loire Roman sites in France Ruins in Pays de la Loire Tourist attractions in Mayenne Diablintes