Listed 1 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "TOURS Town INTRE ET LOIRE" .
TOURS (Town) INTRE ET LOIRE
Caesarodunum or Civitas Turonorum (Tours) Indre-et-Loire, France.
This capital city of the small tribe of the Turones, built by the Romans probably
in the 1st c. A.D., was an important meeting point of roads and waterways. Destroyed
by an invasion in 275, it acquired a fortified surrounding wall at the end of
the 3d c. and in 374 became the chief city of Lugdunensis Tertius and the center
of a large diocese. At this time there was a vicus christianorum W of the city;
Bishop Litorius (337-371) built a funerary basilica there but set up the episcopal
complex within the walls. His successor St. Martin (372-397) was buried in the
Christian cemetery; a basilica was built over his tomb, ca. 470, by Bishop Perpetuus.
The amphitheater, the only monument preserved, is unfortunately filled
with houses or covered with earth. It was one of the largest in the Empire (143
x 124 m on the axes). The outer height may be calculated as ca. 20 m. The seats,
which are cut in the natural rock to the N, rested on vaulted passageways. The
walls are faced with limestone rubble with white mortar joints, often trowel-marked,
and double courses of brick. Four passageways have been found, placed on the axes
of the ellipse; at the entrance they are reinforced with enormous buttresses shaped
like semicircular towers about 6 m in diameter. The size of the building and the
moderate use of brick indicate that it dates from about the time of Hadrian (117-138).
The remains can be reached through the cellars of certain houses.
The 3d c. surrounding wall, an irregular rectangle (ca. 340 x 240
m) enclosed half of the amphitheater on its S side, and formed an enormous bastion
that dominated the plain (perimeter 1155 m, area 9.23 ha). The foundations were
built of reused material (blocks, columns, capitals); the wall itself was 4.3-4.8
m thick, made of rubble dressed with small blocks of stone and with red mortar
and double bands of brick every 7-10 courses. It was flanked with round towers
filled with rubble up to the first floor, where small tegular windows were set.
Remains can be seen at rue des Ursulines no. 12, the Musee des Beaux-Arts, and
the N and S sides of the Cathedral.
Remains of a round temple are at no. 7, rue de Luce. The Musee de
la Societe archeologique de Touraine (Hotel Gouin, 25 rue du Commerce), the former
Musee (Place Foire-le-Roi, no. 8) and the Musee Martinien (Basilique Saint-Martin)
all have collections of finds.
C. Lelong, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!