Uncovering Roman Nîmes

Charles Downey at Ionarts has posted a translation, with added links, of a recent article in Le Figaro on some rather noteworthy excavations in central Nîmes. An excerpt:

It is the largest window ever opened on the ancient past of Nîmes, or Nemausus as it was known in Roman times: the entire Cours Jean-Jaurès, the walking park that majestically crosses the town from the Jardins de la Fontaine up to the ancient fortifications, today has been disemboweled over a space 400 meters long and 17 meter wide, unveiling a spectacle comparable, all things being equal, to that at Pompeii. Streets, covered in paving stones, crossed with alleys, houses with floors covered in mosaics and with painted walls, statue monuments. And the show has only just begun. Archeologists of the Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap), directed by Jean-Yves Breuil, have until the end of July to uncover this entire neighborhood of the ancient citadel, miraculously preserved by being turned into a promenade in the 18th century. Then they must give the land back to the city, who will turn it into a parking lot.

Posted by David on February 15, 2007 1:42 PM