Roman Road Of Agrippa (Saintes–Lyon)

The Roman road from Saintes to Lyon was part of one of the four main routes of the Agrippa road network, established from ''Lugdunum'' (modern-day Lyon), the capital of Roman Gaul. This network was developed beginning in 27 BCE under the direction of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a general and son-in-law of Emperor Augustus.

This road, listed on the Tabula Peutingeriana, connected ''Lugdunum'' (modern-day Lyon) to ''Mediolanum Santonum'' (modern-day Saintes) via ''Augustonemetum) and ''Augustoritum'' (Limoges).

In the 19th-century classification of Roman roads in France by Konrad Miller, the segment between Saintes and Limoges is designated as VR 27.

History

The road was constructed in the 1st century CE under the direction of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to establish a connection between ''Lugdunum'' (Lyon) and ''Mediolanum Santonum'' ( Saintes). Lugdunum thus became a major hub at the intersection of four major Roman roads: Lyon–Boulogne, Lyon–Cologne, the Via Narbonensis (following the Rhône Valley), and Lyon–Saintes.

From the 5th century onward, Roman roads generally fell into disrepair due to the decline of central administration. However, portions of this route remain visible today, with some sections incorporated into modern departmental roads, while others persist as rural paths running through agricultural and wooded areas.

Locally, the route is sometimes referred to as the "Roman path" or "paved path."The locality of Le Chausset, situated at the southern boundary of the road in the commune of Saint-Sulpice-de-Cognac, is toponymically related to the route.

Itinerary

* The route, partly following existing or lost roads and paths, extended from Lyon and Limoges through various localities including Aixe-sur-Vienne, Les Bouchats, Saint-Auvent, the forest of Rochechouart, departmental road D208, La Petite Lande (north of Rochechouart), Chassenon, the ford at La Soutière, the ridge northeast of Saint-Quentin-sur-Charente, then approximately 10 km to Basse, followed by 4 km to the Gallo-Roman theatre of Les Bouchauds. It proceeded through Saint-Cybardeaux, Rouillac, Les Villairs (4 km), the area between Rulle and Herpes (6 km), Sainte-Sévère (3 km), north of Cherves at Le Ferry (6 km), then through Chez Trocada (1 km), Le Chausset (2 km), Chez Jouannais (2 km), Pidou (2 km), Saint-Sauvant (6 km), and finally reached Saintes.

Description of stages

This road axis extends predominantly in an east–west direction, often in a straight line, connecting Lyon, Feurs Forum Segusiavorum, , and Limoges. It is considered plausible that the route partially or entirely followed a preexisting Gallic path, which was subsequently modernized during the reign of Emperor Augustus.

From Limoges, the Agrippa road crossed the Vienne River at Aixe-sur-Vienne. The precise route of this segment remains uncertain. It likely ran slightly south of Cognac-la-Forêt and in proximity to Rochechouart. While remnants are visible in Saint-Auvent, they are believed to belong to a later secondary Gallo-Roman road, part of the viae vicinales network, which served as a system of local routes connected to the main Roman roadways.

The via ''Agrippa'' enters the current department of Charente at the commune of Chassenon, corresponding to the ancient site of '' Cassinomagus''. Between the 1st and 4th centuries, this location developed into a Gallo-Roman complex. The road approached the settlement from the south.

Located on a plateau bordered by the Vienne River, '' Cassinomagus''—identified on the Tabula Peutingeriana—was a secondary urban center within the territory of the Lemovices. The site is notable for its thermal baths and its geological setting within the Rochechouart–Chassenon astrobleme, a 20 km-wide asteroid impact structure that provided a distinctive green breccia used in local construction.

The via Agrippa crosses the Graine River at the site of the former mill of La Soutière and continues northeast of Saint-Quentin-sur-Charente