Musée Départmental, Arles Antique

We enjoyed our day in Arles.  Like many of the cities we have visited in France, there is a good tourist office and convenient and reasonably priced public parking.  We bought discounted tickets at the tourist office to see the main museum and all of the other Roman sites in Arles.

We had lunch at Fad'oli, which is run by a Canadian whose parents were Japanese and Chinese, and who married a French olive oil producer--or something like that.  It is a good place to grab a healthy lunch.

We walked through town, along the Rhone and over to the Musée Départmental, Arles Antique.  Arles.  Until 1825, the people of Arles were not too interested in its Roman history.  In 1825, the town decided to clean up and unearth its Roman ruins.   As you will see below, this took some doing.  

  With the fall of the Empire in the 5th century, the amphitheatre became a shelter for the population and was transformed into a fortress with four towers. The structure encircled more than 200 houses, becoming a real town, with its public square built in the centre of the arena and two chapels.

This new residential role continued until the late 18th century, and in 1825 through the initiative of the writer Prosper Mérimée, the change to national historical monument began. In 1826, expropriation began of the houses built within the building, which ended by 1830 when the first event was organized in the arena - a race of the bulls to celebrate the taking of Algiers.

The museum is built on the site of a Roman circus.  Roman circuses were mainly used for chariot races, but were also used for cavalry combat or hunting with hounds.  The circus in Arles, with a capacity of 20,000 spectators was constructed beginning in 148.

The circus was built on swampy land near the Rhône.  It was built on a foundation of 30,000 (!) of these wooden spikes.

The wreck of the barge Arles-Rhône 3 was found in the Rhône in 2004.  It rested in between 4 and 9 meters of water .  From 2005 until 2010, divers conducted research, and in 2010, with the collaboration of over fifty experts, they raised the boat from the water.

It is a flat-bottomed riverboat dating from the 50s A.D., which sand after a flood.  All the gear, tools, as well as 27 tons of stone that it was transporting were found.

Amphorae were simple containers with two handles and were used to transport all sorts of things.  They were sealed with a plug and sometimes bore the mark of the trader.

Trade was highly regulated and taxed.  Archeologists have found the scales and weights.

Many Roman mosaics have been found in Arles.  A lot of these were found in the 1970s and 80s.

My time in France has helped to educate, or perhaps remind me, of the vastness and complexity of the Roman Empire.  This museum does a wonderful job of explaining everyday life in Roman times.  We were both impressed.