The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls (french: Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules) of
Lugdunum
Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settle ...
(
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
) was part of the
Sanctuary of the Three Gauls
The Sanctuary of the Three Gauls ''(Tres Galliae)'' was the focal structure within an administrative and religious complex established by Rome in the very late 1st century BC at Lugdunum (the site of modern Lyon in France). Its institution serve ...
dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum. In 1961, it was classified as a ''
monument historique
''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...
''.
History
First building
The
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 ...
was built at the foot of the
La Croix-Rousse
La Croix-Rousse is a hill high in the city of Lyon, France, as well as the name of a neighborhood located on this hill. The neighborhood is divided into les pentes (slopes, belonging to the city's 1st arrondissement) and le plateau (atop the hil ...
hill at what was then the confluence of the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
and
Saône
The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île.
The name deri ...
. An inscription on one of the blocks found in 1957 (''Inscription latine des Trois Gaules'', n°217 (
''AE'' 1959, n°61)) connects the amphitheatre with the sanctuary of Rome and Augustus and allows its origins to be identified :
Which can be completed as
:
.._
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.._
:For_the_safety_of_Tiberius_Caesar_Augustus,_C._Julius_Rufus,_citizen_of_the_city_of_Mediolanum_Santonum">Santons
_
A_santon_is_a_small_hand-painted_figurine_cast_in_terracotta_or_a_similar_material_that_is_used_for_building_nativity_scenes._Santons_are_a_traditional_product_of_the_Provence_region_of_southeastern_France._A_maker_of_santons_is_called_a_''sant_...
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:For the safety of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, C. Julius Rufus, citizen of the city of Mediolanum Santonum">Santons