The Gallo-Roman Villa at Plassac

Villa Gallo Romaine de Plassac, built 5 km south of Blaye by a wealthy Italian, overlooks a splendid view of the Gironde estuary.

Built around an interior garden, it is richly decorated with murals, mosaics and marble.

Owned by the Conseil départemental de la Gironde, the Plassac archaeological site, classified as a Historic Monument, contains the remains of 3 main Gallo-Roman villas built successively between the 1st and late 4th/early 5th centuries AD. The architecture of the first two villas was designed in harmony with the estuarine landscape. The last villa features a small spa complex and apsidal rooms, decorated with polychrome mosaics.

 

 

The archaeological museum

Housed in an outbuilding of the former presbytery, now the town hall, the museum was created in 1985 by the Association des Amis du Vieux Plassac to display the various items of furniture unearthed during excavations of the villas, including architectural elements, decorations, tools, coins and ceramics.

On the first floor, a series of panels present the history of the site and ancient buildings, with comparative plans and photographic documents. Of particular note is a copy of the will of bishop Bertechramnus- Saint Bertrand - dated 615 or 616 - bequeathing this property to his church in Le Mans.

Upstairs, in the eastern room, other mural panels and architectural decorations, fragments of marble and porphyry, and black and white mosaics are on display. In the western room, furnishings displayed in thematic showcases give an insight into daily life throughout the history of the various villae: various tools, coins, sigillated pottery, luxury pottery, common pottery sometimes with graffiti, amphorae, some of which are known as "Bordeaux". Terracotta building materials and roof tiles occupy two display cases. In the middle of the room, alongside toiletries, ornaments, fibulae and glassware, two bronze statuettes - a tricorn bull and a sacrificial priest - bear witness to the family's religious life.

A virtual 3D reconstruction of the 2nd-century villa is on display at the museum, as is a virtual 3D reconstruction of the villa in the 2nd century.

A tourist train takes you along the Gironde to Plassac. It then takes you through the vineyards of Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, evoking the wines of the appellation. Finally, it tells the story of Blaye's old streets, which wind their way up to the citadel. Once inside the fortress, the little train reveals its anecdotes and describes the architecture of the site.

 

 

Villa gallo-romaine de Plassac
5, allée de la Mairie

33390 Plassac

villagalloromaine-plassac@gironde.fr

https://www.gironde.fr/culture/patrimoines-culturels#plassac

 


To go further....

LES CAHIERS DU VITREZAIS - LA VILLA GALLO ROMAINE DE PLASSAC

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