From spring to colony
It all began with a spring, in what is now the Jardin de la Fontaine. The Volcae Arecomici settled there in the 6th century BC and worshipped the god Nemausus. The Romans arrived around 120 BC without a fight, and the Via Domitia, begun in 118, brought the road between Italy and Spain through the city. As a Roman colony, Nemausus reached its peak in the 2nd century, with around 25,000 inhabitants.
Among the longest walls in Gaul
Around 16 BC, under Augustus, the colony was given walls more than 6 kilometres long and almost 10 metres high, with around 80 towers and about ten gates. They enclosed 220 hectares, placing them among the longest in Roman Gaul, after those of Vienne. No tower survives in full, but the Porte d’Auguste, the Porte de France and the Tour Magne preserve traces of them. The Tour Magne, a pre-Roman structure transformed under Augustus, once reached 36 metres; today it stands 32.50 metres high.
The Maison Carrée
Completed at the beginning of the 1st century, this Corinthian temple, 26.42 metres by 13.54, was dedicated to Gaius and Lucius Caesar, grandsons of Augustus. The inscription was reconstructed around 1758 from the fixing holes of the bronze letters. The temple later served as a town hall, a dwelling, a stable, a church and a prefecture. Restored from 2006 to 2011, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since September 2023.
The Arènes
Built between around 90 and 120, the amphitheatre measures 133.38 metres by 101.40 and stands 21 metres high. It held 20,000 spectators; its current capacity is 13,800 seats. Its two levels of 60 arches and its system of vomitoria have come down to us, making it one of the best preserved ancient amphitheatres in the world. Today it hosts corridas, courses camarguaises, concerts and historical re-enactments.
The colony’s water
In the 1st century, probably between 40 and 80, an aqueduct about 50 kilometres long brought water from the Eure spring, near Uzès. Its average gradient is only 25 centimetres per kilometre, for an estimated flow of 35,000 cubic metres a day. It crossed the Gardon by the Pont du Gard and ended at the castellum, which distributed the water around the city. It worked well for about 150 years, deteriorated in the 3rd century and was abandoned in the 6th century.
- Walls
- more than 6 km, around 80 towers
- Arènes
- 133.38 x 101.40 m
- Maison Carrée
- 30 columns 9 m tall
- Tour Magne
- 32.50 m today
- Aqueduct
- about 50 km