Lutetia Parisiorum

The Gallo-Roman town of ''Lutetia'' (''Lutetia Parisiorum'' in Latin, in French ''Lutèce'') was the predecessor of the modern-day city of Paris. It was founded in about the middle of the 3rd century BCE by the Parisii, a Gallic tribe. Traces of an earlier Neolithic settlement have also been found at the former site of the city. Lutetia was an important crossing point of the Seine, and was located at the intersection of land and water trade routes. In the 1st century BCE, it was conquered by Romans and was gradually rebuilt into a Roman city. Ruins including a forum, amphitheater, and Roman baths still remain. In the 5th century it became the capital of the Merovingian dynasty of French kings, and thereafter was known simply as Paris.

Etymology

The settlement is attested in Ancient Greek as ''Loukotokía'' (Λoυκoτοκία) by Strabo and ''Leukotekía'' (Λευκοτεκία) by Ptolemy. Likely origins are Celtic root "Lut" meaning "a swamp or marsh", or the Latin term "lutum", or "mud". It survives today in the Scottish Gaelic ''lòn'' ("pool, meadow") and the Breton ''loudour'' ("dirty").

A less likely origin is the Celtic root , which means "mouse" and ''-ek(t)ia'', meaning "the mice" and which is contained in the Breton word ''logod'', the Welsh ''llygod'', and the Irish ''luch''.''La langue gauloise'', Pierre-Yves Lambert, éditions errance 1994.

Earliest inhabitants

Traces of Neolithic habitations, dating as far back as 4500 BCE, have been found along the Seine at Bercy, and close to the Louvre, The earliest inhabitants lived on the river plain, raising animals and farming. In the Bronze Age and Iron Age, they settled in villages, in houses made of wood and clay, which could be easily dismantled and moved if needed. Their life was closely attached to the river, which served as a trade route to other parts of Europe.

The Gallic settlement

The original location of Lutetia, the early capital of the Parisii, is still disputed by historians. Traditionally, historians had placed the settlement on the Île de la Cité, where the bridges of the major trading routes of the Parisii crossed the Seine. This view was challenged after the discovery between 1994 and 2005, during the construction of a highway, of a large early Gallic settlement in Nanterre, in the suburbs of Paris. This is composed of a large area of several main streets and hundreds of houses over 15 hectares. Critics also point out the lack of archeological findings from the pre-Roman era on the Ile de la Cité.

Other scholars dispute the idea that Lutetia was in Nanterre. They point to the description given by Julius Caesar, who came to Lutetia to negotiate with the leaders of the Gallic tribes. He wrote that the oppidum, or fortress of Lutetia, which he visited, was on an island. In his account of the war in Gaul, "De Bello Gallico", Caesar wrote that, when the Romans later laid siege to Lutetia, "the inhabitants had burned their structures and the wooden bridges which served to cross the two branches of the river around their island fortress," which appears to describe the Île de la Cité.Sarmant, "History of Paris" (2012), p. 10

Proponents of the Ile de Cité as the site of the Gallic settlement also address the issue of the lack of archeological evidence on the island. The original oppidum and bridges were burned by the Parisii to keep them out of the hands of the Romans. The houses of the Parisii were made of wood and clay. Since then every square meter of the island has been dug up and rebuilt, often using the same materials, multiple times, making it unlikely that traces of the Gallic settlement would remain on the island. They argue that a settlement in Nanterre did not necessarily exclude that the Île-de-la-Cité was the site of the oppidum of Lutetia; both settlements could have existed at the same time. Finally, they argue that, while Gallic settlements sometimes relocated to a new site, the new sites were usually given a new name. It would be very unusual to transfer the name of Lutetia from the Nanterre settlement to a new Roman town on the Île-de-la-Cité. They also argue that if Lutetia had not already existed where Paris is today, the new Roman city would have been given a Latin, not a Gallic name. This seems to support the argument that Lutetia was in fact located at the center of modern Paris.

The Parisii first agreed to submit to Caesar and Rome, but in 52 BC they joined other tribes, led by Vercingetorix, in a revolt near the end of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars, the Battle of Lutetia was fought with the local tribe. The Gallic forces were led by Vercingetorix's lieutenant Camulogenus. They burned the oppidum and the bridges to keep the Romans from crossing. The Romans, led by Titus Labienus, one of Caesar's generals, marched south to Melun, crossed the river there, marched back toward the city, and decisively defeated the Parisii. The location of the final battle, like the location of the oppidum, is disputed. It was fought near a river, which some historians interpret as the Seine, and others as the Yonne; and near a large marsh; a feature of the countryside near both the Île-de-la-Cité and Narbonne. Whatever its location was, the battle was decisive; Lutetia became a Roman town.

Roman Lutetia

File:Carnavalet - Triton et Néréide 01.jpg, Sculpture of a Triton and a Nymph (2nd century AD) found on the Île de la Cité (Musée Carnavalet)
File:Romanbathparis.jpg, Interior of the Roman baths, (Hotel de Cluny)

The first traces of the Roman occupation of Lutece appeared at the end of the 1st century BCE, during the reign of the Emperor Augustus. By the beginning of the 1st century AD, the construction of a Roman city was already underway.

The new Roman city was laid out along the "Cardo Maximus" or central axis of Lutece, which was directly perpendicular to the Seine and the bridges on Île de la Cité. It began at the heights of the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève on the left bank, went downhill along the modern Rue Saint-Jacques, across a marshy area to the bridge connecting to the Île de la Cité; across the island, and across a bridge to a smaller enclave on the right bank. The low-lying land along the river was suitable for farming; and since it was easily flooded, the road was raised.

Lutetia occupied an area of about 54 hectares, and had a population of about eight thousand persons. It was not the capital of the Roman province ( Sens had that distinction) and it was to the west of the most important Roman north-south road between Provence and the Rhine. The importance of the city was due in large part to its position as an intersection of land and water trade routes. One of the most striking archeological finds from the early period is the Pillar of the Boatmen which was erected by the corporation of local river merchants and sailors and dedicated to Tiberius. It featured statues of both Roman and Gallic deities, Excavations along the river have turned up bronze coins minted by the Parisii, as well as amphorae of wine from Italy and ceramics from Lyon and Italy.

The city was constructed on the model of Rome, with a forum, baths, and an arena. The principal axis of the city was the Cardo Maximus. a roughly north-south road which ran from the heights of Mount Sainte-Genevieve on the left bank, down to the bridges over the Île de la Cité, and across to a small enclave on the north, or right bank, at the modern Rue Saint-Martin. Since the left bank was marshy and frequently flooded, the center of the city was higher up the scope, where the Cardo Maximus met the Decumanus, or east-west Main Street, located at modern rue Soufflot. Here the Romans constructed a civic basilica, containing a tribunal, and a temple. Gradually the city was furnished with a forum, and baths, all on the upper slope of Mount Sainte-Genevieve.

Major public works projects and monuments were built in the 2nd century AD. An aqueduct fifteen kilometres long was constructed to bring water from the plateau of Rungis, south of the city. It took the form of a bridge over the valley of Bièvre river at Arcueil-Cachan. The piers and ruined arches are still visible, and their arches give the location its name.

In the 3rd century, according to legend, Christianity was brought to the town by St Denis, and his companions Rusticus and
Eleuthere. In about 250 AD he and two companions were said to have been arrested and decapitated on the hill of ''Mons Mercurius'' thereafter known as ''Mons Martyrum'' (Martyrs' Hill, or Montmartre). According to tradition, he carried his head to Saint-Denis, where the Basilica of Saint-Denis was later built The first documented bishop of Paris was Victorinus, in 346. The first council of Bishops in Gaul convened in the city in 360. When Saint Martin visited the city in 360, there was a cathedral, near the site of Notre-Dame de Paris.

The mid third century brought a series of invasions of Gaul by two Germanic peoples, the Franks and the Alemanni, which threatened Lutetia. The city at the time had no fortifications. Portions of the left bank settlement, including the baths and amphitheater, were hurriedly abandoned, and the stones used to construct ramparts around the Île de la Cité. The city was reduced in size from one hundred hectares during the high Roman Empire to ten to fifteen hectares on the left bank, and ten hectares on the Île de la Cité. A new civic basilica and baths were built on the island. Their vestiges can be seen today in the archeological crypt under the Parvis in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Square John Paul II.

In the 4th century, Lutetia remained an important bulwark defending the Empire against the Germanic invaders. In 357–358 Julian II, as Caesar of the Western empire and general of the Gallic legions, moved the Roman capital of Gaul from Trier to Paris. After defeating the Franks in a major battle at Strasbourg in 357, he defended against Germanic invaders coming from the north. He was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 360 in Lutetia. Later Valentinian I resided in Lutetia for a brief period (365–366).

The end of the Roman Empire in the west, and the creation of the Merovingian dynasty in the 5th century, with its capital placed in Paris by Clovis I, confirmed the new role and name for the city. The adjective ''Parisiacus'' had already been used for centuries. Lutetia had gradually become Paris, the city of the Parisii.

The Forum of Lutetia

Only a small part of a wall of the old forum remains above ground today, but the foundations have been extensively excavated since the 19th century. The Forum of Lutetia was modelled after that of Rome, and was in the center of the Roman city, between the modern streets of Boulevard Saint-Michel on the west, Rue Saint-Jacques on the east, rue Cujas to the north and Rue G. Lussac and rue Malbranch to the south. It was three Roman blocks down the hillside from the still-existing Roman baths of Cluny. It was two Roman blocks wide and one block long, 177.6 meters by 88.8 meters. The center of the forum was where the intersection of rue Soufflot and rue V. Cousin is today.

The forum was surrounded by a wall, with entrances on the north and south. Along the outer walls on the north, south sides and west sides, were arcades sheltering rows of small shops. At the west end was an underground gallery, or crypto-portico.

The civic basilica, essentially the town hall, occupied the east of the forum, It contained the courts where political, social and financial issues were discussed and decided. It had a central nave, higher than other parts of the building, and two lower collateral aisles, separated from the nave by rows of columns. This model was later adapted by Christian cathedrals.

At the west end was the temple, devoted to the official gods. Its classical facade with a portico of pillars had a triangular fronton, or pediment, faced to the east, the tradition for Roman temples and later Christian cathedrals.

The Amphitheater, or Arenes de Lutece

File:P1090451 Paris V arenes de Lutèce rwk.JPG, The ancient Amphitheater, or "Arenes" of Lutetia
File:Maquette des arènes de Lutèce 01.jpg, Model of the ancient amphitheater with its stage and arena
File:Arènes de Lutèce, Paris 15 August 2013 003.jpg, The seats of the amphitheater

The Amphitheater of Lutetia, or Les Arenes de Lutece, located near the meeting place of Rue Monge and Rue de Navarre, was a large outdoor amphitheater and arena. It had a stage and backdrop used for the presentation of plays, along with a larger space suitable for the combat of gladiators and of animals, and other large-scale festivities. Though there is no specific evidence to date the beginning of construction, it was probably built near the end of the 1st century AD. It was largely dismantled in the early 4th century so that the stones could be used in the construction of the fortress on the Île de a Cité, at a time when the province was threatened by barbarian invasion. Many of the remaining stones were reused in another major project, the city wall of Paris constructed by Philippe-Auguste in the 12th century.

The site was discovered in 1867-68 during the construction of Rue Monge by Louis-Napoleon, and excavations were begun in 1870. An omnibus depot was planned to be built on the same site, but a coalition of notable Parisans, including Victor Hugo, insisted that the remaining vestiges be saved. They were declared a monument, and partially rebuilt between beginning in 1915-16.

The Arena is about 100 meters by 130 meters in size, making it one of the largest in Gaul. It could accommodate as many as seventeen thousand spectators.

The Theater

The Roman theater of Lutetia (not to be confused with the amphitheatre, or Arenes de Lutece) was located where the Lycée Saint-Louis is today, along Boulevard Saint-Michel, in the center of the grid of ancient Roman roads. It occupied one of the standard blocks of the Roman city, three hundred Roman feet on each side. It was probably built in the second part of the 1st century AD, based on coins found in the foundation; was rebuilt 2nd century, and, like many other buildings on the left bank, In the 4th century it was taken apart its stone used in the building of the wall and new buildings on the Île-de-la-Cité. In the 4th century It was discovered underneath the Lycée Saint-Louis on Boulevard Saint-Michel, and with other portions discovered under Rue Racine and the School of Medicine. It was gradually excavated and recreated by Theodore Vacquer between 1861 and 1884.

The slope of Mt. Genevieve was used to provide elevation for the semi-circular seating on the uphill side. The back of the stage, which no longer exists, faced onto to the Roman road, was decorated with arches and columns. The "pulpitum", or front stage, and "parascenum", or back stage, rested on a base of cement. When they were excavated in the 19th century, the columns and walls were gone but the chalk markings of the Roman architect were still visible on the floor.

The theater had two groups of seating; the "maenianum", or general audience seating, higher up and farther back, and the "maenianum" of the podium, for the notables, in front of the orchestra stage. It had a separate entrance, and was accessed by a covered corridor. There were also several "vomitoria", or underground passageways, to the seats of the ordinary spectators. The arena probably had some form of covering over the seats to protect spectators from rain, but no trace of one has been found.

The Cluny Baths

Image:CLUNY-Maquette thermes 2.JPG, Model of Thermes de Cluny: In the center is the frigidarium; to the left is the tepidarium; in front of the tepidarium is the caldarium.''Photo: Wiki user Maryas''
File:Thermes-de-Cluny-caldarium.jpg, The Caldarium, or hot baths, of Cluny
File:Musee-Cluny-frigidarium 01.JPG, Bath in the Frigidarium, or Cold bath
File:Système hypocauste.jpg, Remains of the Hypocaust under-floor passages that heated the baths

The Thermes de Cluny, the grand public baths, now part of the Musée de Cluny, are the largest and best-preserved vestige of Roman Lutetia. The baths have occupied he same site, at the meeting point of the two major Roman roads, between Boulevard Saint-Michel, Boulevard Saint-Germaine, and the Rue des Ecoles, since the late 1st or early 2nd century AD.Alain Bouet and Florence Saragoza, "Les Thermes de Cluny", the Archeologia files, no. 323, p. 25 The baths originally occupied a much larger area than they do today. They were about three hundred Roman feet wide, a standard Roman city block, and about four hundred Roman feet long, covering about one hectare of land. The site today contains both the baths and the adjoining the National Museum of the Middle Ages.*

The clients entered the baths through a doorway near the modern Rue des Ecoles, into a large courtyard that was lined with shops.
They would cross the courtyard to the entrance of the baths, change their clothes, and go first into the caldarium, a very hot and steamy room with benches and a pool of heated water. The room was heated by a hypocaust, an under-floor system of tunnels filled with hot air, heated by furnaces tended by slaves. The caladium had benches and a large hot-water pool. After a period of time there, when they began to sweat, they would move to the frigidarium, which had a cold-water pool and baths, or to the tepidarium, which had the same features at room-temperature.

The baths were much more than a place to bathe; they played an important social and political role in Lutetia and other Roman cities. They were free of charge, or accessible for a small fee, and contained not only baths but also bars, places to rest, meeting rooms and libraries.

The original baths were probably destroyed during the first invasion by the Franks and Alamans in 275, then rebuilt. The frigidarium, with its vault intact, and the caldarium are the main remaining chambers. They were originally covered on the inside with mosaics, marble or frescoes. The northern side was occupied by two gymnasia and the centre of the facade monumental fountain. Beneath there are several lower chambers with vaulted galleries. The drain for emptying the frigidarium pool is still visible. Water flowed out through a drain that encircled the baths and ran into a main drain located under Boulevard Saint-Michel.

The vestiges of other baths have survived. The best-preserved were found in the 19th century, not far from Cluny, within and nearby the present College de France on the "Cardo" or rue Saint-Jacques. They were part of a bath complex that was even larger than Cluny, about two hectares. It had two parts; a "Paestra", or large outdoor exercise area, and the baths themselves. Vestiges of the circular hot water pool and the cold water pool have survived, along with the mains of the hypocaust heating system under the floor. Traces were also found of marble wall coverings, frescoes and bronze fixtures.

The Île de la Cité

File:La crypte archéologique du Parvis de Notre-Dame (Paris) (8274683584).jpg, Ruins of the Roman baths under the Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II
File:JulianusII-antioch(360-363)-CNG.jpg, A coin depicting Julian (360–363), made Roman Emperor by his soldiers in Lutetia
File:Detail of gallo--roman Lutèce and medieval Paris.jpg, Steps to the wharf of the Roman port, now fifty meters from the river.( Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II)

Beginning in 307 AD, the increasing number of invasions of Gaul by Germanic tribes forced the Lutetians to abandon a large part of the city on the left bank, and to move to the Île de la Cité. They used the stones from the abandoned forum and other buildings to construct a rampart around the island, as well as a civic basilica approximately where the flower market is located today.

Vestiges of the ramparts of the island were found under the parvis of Notre-Dame de Paris, when an underground parking lot was constructed in 1965. The rampart was not very high; only about two meters; suggesting that it was the base of a gallery wooden wall. The rampart, as well as most of the buildings on the island, were built top stones brought from the demolished buildings on the left bank, particularly from the amphitheater. The rampart later was a refuge for the Parisians when Lutetia was besieged by the Vikings in 886–887. Portions of the rampart can be seen today at the Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II, in the archeological crypt under the Parvis.

A modest headquarters or "Palace" was constructed at the west end of the island, where the Palais de Justice is today. One was the residence and headquarters of the Roman military commander, and the temporary residence of two Roman Emperors during the military campaigns. It was probably here that Julian was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 361. During the Merovingian dynasty, this site saw the construction of the palace of the Kings of France, before the construction of the Louvre palace.

A second important building on the island was the civic basilica, fulfilling the judicial functions transferred from the Left Bank. It stood between the modern Rue de la Cité and the Tribunal de Commerce, near where the flower market is today. It was discovered in 1906 during the construction of the Paris Metro station. It was very large, seventy meters long and thirty-five meters wide, with a central nave to two lower collatera sections. The entrance was probably on the Rue de la Cité, portion of the Cardo Maximus which crossed the island and connected the bridges It also was largely constructed of stones taken from the demolished buildings of the left bank, including some highly decorative carved stones which probably came from the Forum.

Many artifacts from Lutetia have been recovered and are on display at the Musée Carnavalet.

Streets

The new streets and squares were laid out with great precision, in blocks ("insular") of exactly 300 Roman feet (88.8 meters) square. As a result the modern Rue Saint Martin and Rue Saint-Denis, which were both laid out in Roman times, are exactly 600 Roman feet apart. To build the roads, the land was cleared, given a slight rounded slope to take away water, and covered with an aggregate of small river stones, which were tamped down. Sidewalks were constructed in the same manner, and sometimes covered with yellow clay. The roads and sidewalks were regularly maintained throughout the time of the Roman Empire. Modern excavations of the streets have uncovered the ruts in the roads from the wheels of chariots and wagons. The roads were regularly repaired with fresh stones, gradually raising their height by as much as a meter.

Residences

File:Carnavalet - Plaque de serrure 01.jpg, A Roman keyhole plaque
File:Carnavalet - Clef à platine avec dents 02.jpg, A bronze key from Lutetia (Musée Carnavalet)
File:Objets de la vie quotidienne à Lutèce.jpg, Objects from daily life in Lutetia found in the Musée Carnavalet
File:Peinture murale carnavalet.jpg, Remains of a decorative mural from 12, rue de l'Abbé-de-l'Épée, (2nd century AD} (Musée Carnavalet)
File:Peinture oiseau carnavalet.jpg, Detail of a fresco of a bird, 14, rue Monsieur-le-Prince, Musée Carnavalet)

The residential streets of Lutetia, unlike the boulevards, were irregular and not as-well maintained as they were the responsibility of the home-owners, not the city. Traces of several of these early residential neighbourhoods, dating to the beginning of the 1st century AD, particularly on the Rue de l'Abbé de l'Épée, rue Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, and the garden of the Êcole des Mines have been discovered.

The houses generally had wood frames covered with clay on the outside. The wooden beams of roof and walls were fastened held together with notches, reinforced with nails. The roof was usually thatched, or sometimes covered with tiles. The floors were covered with yellow clay or packed earth. Excavations showed that the city had an important plaster industry; plaster was used to simulate stone, as a covering, or in the form of bricks and tiles.

The houses of the wealthy often had an under-the-floor heating system and their own baths similar to the civic baths. Their interior walls were covered with plaster, and often painted with frescoes, some traces of which have been recovered (See gallery). They frequently had a reception room on the ground floor, and bedrooms upstairs, accessed by a stairway, as well as a cellar. which sometimes had its own well. Several houses were grouped together with a common courtyard.

In May 2006, a Roman road was found during expansion of the University of Pierre and Marie Curie campus. Additionally, remains of private houses dating from the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) and containing heated floors were found. Everyday items like flowerpots, bronze chains, ceramics, and drawer handles were found. The owners were wealthy enough to own baths which was a status symbol among Roman citizens.

Aqueducts

File:Tête de l'aqueduc de Lutèce allant aux Thermes depuis le carré des eaux de Wissous - Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, Gallica.jpg, Excavation of beginning of the aqueduct at Wissous (1903 photo)
File:Aqueduct of Lutetia - Avenue Reille, Paris.jpg, Section of the Roman aqueduct on Avenue Reille, (14th Arr.)
File:Acqueduc (près du square Montsouris).jpg, A section of aqueduct near Square Montsouris

Several reservoirs were constructed in the hills outside the city at Rungis and Wissou in the present department of the Essonne

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases