Down the steps to 2000 years of history
© Gallimard Loisirs/Th. Vallier
In Narbonne, the slightest stroke of a pickaxe is likely to uncover remains of Narbo Martius, "Rome’s first daughter", founded in 118 B.C.
Just go down a few steps to travel back 2,000 years. A town beneath the town, this vast warehouse, built in the 1st century B.C., is the only monument of its time to have been preserved in Narbonne. It has of yet no equivalent in the Roman world. The horreum was discovered in 1838, when it was used as a private cellar. Explored between 1935 and 1941, and more recently for specific research, the horreum has been open to visitors since 1976.
Small cells in which merchandise was stored are distributed around two galleries (and the beginnings of a third); their vaults are 2,40 metres high. They were probably the basement of a market, well situated in the commercial centre of the city, to the south of the Forum (at today’s Place du Forum) and at the edge of the cardo (today’s rue Droite). The cubicles contain gallo-romain remains which evoke some of the former Roman monuments: the theatre, the baths, the Temple of Cybele…The recently installed lighting and sound display has further enhanced the site.
The city wine - Narbo 118 - matures in one of the horreum cells, which maintain a constant temperature and level of humidity. Visitors can learn all about antique trade and winemaking in Narbonne from the video on display.
Contact us
2 000 ans d’histoire en bas de l’escalier
7 rue Rouget de Lisle
11100 Narbonne
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La Résidence
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Hotel Le Mas Pierrot
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Méli-Mélo
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LA TABLE SAINT CRESCENT
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L'Horreum
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Topic : Art and cultural heritage
Published on : 2008/04/10
Tags : down the steps to 2000 years of history
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