Mirebeau-sur-Bèze (, literally ''Mirebeau on

Bèze Bèze () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It takes its name from the Bèze river, which rises in the commune. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 co ...

'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Mirebeau is the site of a monumental

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

or fortress for about 5000

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

aries. Extensive aerial reconnaissance and excavations since 1964 have shown the extent of the site and its presence of

Legio VIII Augusta Legio VIII Augusta ("Augustus' Eighth Legion") was one of the oldest legions of the Imperial Roman army. In republican service They were ordered to Cisalpine Gaul around 58 BC by Julius Caesar and marched with him throughout the entirety of t ...

. The large camp had stone ramparts with towers, gates, ''principia'' (headquarters) with monumental entrance, storehouses,

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

(thermal baths), 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 ...

whose embankments are still visible, and a wharf on the river

. The fort was surrounded by a V-shaped ditch, and later two more ditches were dug on two of the sides. Tile stamps of the VIIIth Legion show that the camp was built in 70 AD, when the legion arrived with

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

in Gaul to oppose the revolts of the

Treveri The Trēverī ( Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fri ...

and especially the

Ubii 350px, The Ubii around AD 30 The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river. They were ...

and

Lingones The Lingones (Gaulish: 'the jumpers') were a Gallic tribe of the Iron Age and Roman periods. They dwelled in the region surrounding the present-day city of Langres, between the provinces of Gallia Lugdunensis and Gallia Belgica. Name Attes ...

against Rome. The legion left in 86 at the latest to its next base at

Argentoratum Argentoratum or Argentorate was the ancient name of the city of Strasbourg. The name was first mentioned in 12 BC, when it was a Roman military outpost established by Nero Claudius Drusus. From 90 AD the Legio VIII Augusta was permanently stati ...

(now Strasbourg). Civil

canaba A (plural ) was the Latin term for a hut or hovel and was later (from the time of Hadrian) used typically to mean a town that emerged as a civilian settlement () in the vicinity of a Roman legionary fortress (). A settlement that grew up out ...

e built-up outside the fortress and continued after the army left at the crossroads of ancient roads on the site of the present village, becoming a substantial settlement. A theatre was restored by a Roman citizen's daughter when it was falling into ruin. Upstream an important Celtic and later

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 ...

sanctuary had developed.Le camp légionnaire de Mirebeau (Goguey, Reddé, 1995) Other buildings around the fortress included a mansio, a kind of hotel for state officials. An underground aqueduct supplying the fortress has been excavated.