Roman villas in northwestern Gaul
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Roman villas in northwestern Gaul (modern
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
) functioned as colonial economic centers. Most villas did not resemble the luxurious, aristocratic country retreats of the
Mediterranean region In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
. Their owners were absentee investors (or the emperor himself), managed by local Gauls whose families were rewarded after the Gallo-Roman wars. It is difficult for archeologists to define a villa; the recovered residences varied in size and style (often determined by economic function). However, all sites designated as "villas" contain Roman architectural elements found in homes (such as
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s, porticos, columns and square grounds plans). At first the new Roman masters physically changed very little in Gaul, simply refining the rural economic system in an already intensely farmed landscape. These refinements took the form of technological improvements and enhancing the economic structure (which included the transport of goods and raw materials to larger markets).


Gauls (Celts)

The Gauls (Celts who lived in Gaul) were a culture rather than a race, nation or empire. They were skilled in metalworking and cattle-raising. The culture began to dominate France around 800 BCE, replacing the existing culture (but not the people). The Celtic landscape resembled a countryside, with open fields instead of woods; however, Celtic fields were smaller (often square). More fields were used for pasture than for crops because of the need for cattle, sheep and forage. The Gauls intensely managed the forest for wood and forest products; the Romans enhanced the system without dramatically altering it.
Villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
and
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
were denser in the countryside during the Roman period; the population (equal to that at the time of
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...
) was about 20 million. At this time,
Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
's population of four to six million equaled later-medieval numbers. Homes were better constructed than most houses built during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
; they were built with local materials: timber uprights with plaited wicker, coated with clay, straw, and animal hair.


Roman conquest and colonization

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
and his
Roman legions The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...
succeeded in their
conquest of Gaul The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
from 57 to 52 BCE at the invitation of Gauls in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, who asked the Romans to come to their defense. The Romans occupied and managed their empire with a minimum of administrators, no
police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
and an army primarily located on the frontiers (much like the French colonial empire of the 17th and 18th centuries. A few Roman natives lived in major towns, but most governmental and economic functions were carried out by local Gauls. This "minimalist empire" left most people and institutions untouched. New Roman settlements were relatively few; if one paid their
taxes A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...
and kept the peace, life did not change much during the early centuries of occupation. The primary early-Roman modifications were technological improvements and links to a market economy, which often meant new
Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
and supplies for the
Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
. The major technological addition was a bigger plough (possibly invented in Gaul), which could break up the heavier soil. This new plough cut deeper into the soil, and the ploughman could regulate its depth. It was usually pulled by four to eight oxen, and had three parts: * ''Coulter'': Knife-like vertical iron blade * ''
Ploughshare In agriculture, a plowshare ( US) or ploughshare ( UK; ) is a component of a plow (or plough). It is the cutting or leading edge of a moldboard which closely follows the coulter (one or more ground-breaking spikes) when plowing. The plowshar ...
'': Blade which cut horizontally through grass roots * ''
Mouldboard A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
'': Turned the soil to one side The results of these innovations were longer fields (suitable for large estates) and population growth (with the additional food produced). Roman investors (possibly living in
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
) bought and sold land, using local Gallic lords to manage the new
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
system. These managers built the villas we find today, which historians call a '' romanitas'' (Romanized Gallic villa). These Gauls created a wide variety of homes, from two-room cottages to palaces more in keeping with the Roman ideal of life (evidenced in mosaics,
columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
and other typically Roman features). This ''romanitas'' was the passport to a new world of consumer goods, prestige and advancement: urban luxury in the countryside.


Locations

Originally, historians believed Roman villas to be primarily near urban centers and major roads; their view of the villas stressed their economic autonomy, since transport over land was expensive and slow (even with the improvement of
Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
throughout Gaul). Today, scholars believe that the villas were linked to a broader empire economy through a system of secondary (and tertiary) Roman roads. These roads were sometimes built (or maintained) by villa owners, especially if the road crossed an owner's land. Owners often hired surveyors,
geologists A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
and
labourers A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...
for the work. Villa sites were places of previous occupation over hundreds (and possibly thousands) of years to reuse stone, water sources, raw materials and transportation links (roads and
waterways A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...
). In pre-Roman Gaul, tribal areas were divided into parcels approximately the size of a
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
(''pagi''). Each ''pagus'' usually had a village at its center, and sometimes
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
settlements relocated closer to a Roman road. An adequate water source was the primary site-location factor for a villa. Deep wells were often dug to ensure enough drinking and cleaning water for the family, laborers and livestock. Clean water was also essential for
watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
and (eventually) baths, the Roman indicator of a fully civilized life.


Types

Archaeologists have had difficulties defining villas, since there were a number of local, regional and functional variations. Villa sizes ranged from two rooms to several acres (for rambling houses). The word "villa" sometimes refers to an architectural style with residential, urban Roman features such as porticos and columns. Most villas were food-production operations made up of cultivated fields,
meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artificia ...
and
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, with timber use important.
Watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
, cowsheds, corn driers,
wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system ...
s and
kilns A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay in ...
were typical farm buildings. Villas produced wool, leather and tallow in addition to food.
Hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
,
fowling Fowling is the hunting of birds by humans, for food ( meat), feathers or any other commercially value products, or simply for leisure (" sporting") or collecting trophies. It is comparable to wildfowling, the practice of hunting waterfowl ...
and
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
were sources of protein. Beef was important in northern France, and pork in the south; sheep were more common outside the villas. The transport of produce overland was once thought to be too expensive, but
amphorae An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
and delicate
ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
were carried across North Africa (causing archeologists to reconsider ancient logistics). Although Romans used
barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
(towed up rivers by oxen, horses, or slaves) on the Rhone River, it is unknown if the same system was used on the smaller rivers of Lower Normandy. Right-of-way would need to be secured by the state, and a clear riverside track would need to be maintained. Some Roman villas engaged in industrial production in addition to food and other essentials. These included:Johnston 2004, p. 29. * Tile works: The correct type of clay and a sizable forest (for fuel) were required. Most French forests in existence today existed during the Gallo-Roman period. *Horse farms *
Health spa A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...
: Containing a large swimming pool (or bath) * Salt works: On the coast, usually owned by the emperor *Pottery kilns: Similar requirements to tile works, producing amphorae and mass-produced table and kitchenware (such as the popular red ware—''terra sigilata''—for long-distance trade. Local ceramics for cooking, eating and religious figurines were also produced for consumption. * Stone quarries: The hard work demanded
slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
(often criminals), requiring soldiers and tighter security.Dyson 2003, p. 50-52. *
Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
:
Precious metals Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lu ...
were eventually controlled by the emperor. Community entrepreneurs or private associations controlled most other mines, but all mining (including quarries) was noted for its life-shortening slave work. Most mines were short-lived, located near small villages. *Imperial estates: The civil service or the army administered the emperor's villas.Johnston 2004, p. 30. All villas paid predetermined income and inheritance taxes (''tributum'') in cash. Materials sold to the army (most commonly leather and corn), were processed on-site. The results were then sent through the empire's posting stations (''mansion'') to the northern frontier. All industrial villas bought food, iron for tools, wood and other materials locally, hiring local labor.


Labor

Slave-based villas existed in large numbers (especially after the wars of conquest), but were not dominant; free peasants and
tenant farmers A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
working for villas were common as well. The primary source of slaves was war, but abandoned-property owners were also rounded up and treated as slaves.Johnston 2004,p.8. Slaves were considered expensive assets, and treated accordingly. Sometimes several hundred slaves served a medium-sized villa. They were treated as thinking, self-motivated “instruments” with a variety of skills. Owners were firm but tolerant, admonishing and encouraging with small rewards. Women specialized in a number of jobs: cooks,
hairdressers A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
, weavers and laundresses. After periods of political upheaval, a father's job legally bound his son to the same work. The Roman institution of slavery in the empire also provided other options. Many were freed for good service, an incentive. There were also opportunities to earn bonuses and buy freedom. A promising young slave might attend the children's lessons; an owner could cultivate his own
secretaries A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...
,
accountants An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...
, administrators, and
tutors Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...
and rent them out. The emperor's slaves were insiders in the wealth system, and could become wealthy themselves.Thomas 1996,p.106. By the end of the second century BCE, 80 percent of the population consisted of emancipated slaves or their descendants. After the wars of expansion, as the slave pool dried up villas converted to tenant or employed laborers. By the end of the empire most slaves worked in
domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
as the owners’ private staff, rather than as laborers on the estates.


Architecture

Over five centuries, the villa took on many forms. It sometimes began as a simple cottage, which became embedded in a complex of additions; large investor colonial villas were also designed and built, fully formed. Near the empire's end, villas became smaller and more numerous. The classic great villa consisted of a main house with a
veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...
(or
porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
) overlooking two rows of buildings (or wings). These were often not parallel, diverging to enhance the effect of distance. The rooms were connected by the veranda, which acted as a hall. Each room had a different function, and all offered little privacy. Some villas were several rooms deep and lit by a clerestory, or dormer windows. Thick walls indicate villas which could have been two or three stories tall, with
attics An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the t ...
for storage. Although
fireplaces A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
with hoods have been found, most heating was by braziers burning charcoal or
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...
. Rarely, a central room was heated by
hypocausts A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...
(under-floor hot air from fires beneath the house). The venting ran up the walls of the villa, emptying under the roof eaves. This source of venting made the home appear to be on fire because of the smoke billowing from the roof edges and walls.
Kitchens A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...
were unsophisticated, featuring a masonry hearth with a charcoal fire. Coals would have been scraped into a pile, and a portable grill would hold a pot to simmer or grill meat. Kitchens were often near baths, since both required water; they were detached (or at the end of a building) due to the risk of fire. Some kitchen fireplace ovens used
refractory brick In materials science, a refractory material or refractory is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat, pressure, or chemical attack, and retains strength and form at high temperatures. Refractories are polycrystalline, polyphase, ...
, which allowed heat to be gradually released into an adjoining room (a library, study or storage room for drying split wood or wine being artificially aged). Kitchen ceilings were high, again to reduce the fire risk.Johnston 2004,p.19. Lavatories were used in towns, but not at villas since trees provided privacy. Rubbish was discarded out the window or into pits. Walls (interior and exterior) and columns might be painted in bright colors, such as red, purple, brown or white. Roof tiles could be a bright sky-blue from the clay-baking process. Painted wall murals rarely survive, but were popular.Johnston 2004,p.38. At least one
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
appears in all villas, usually on the floor in public areas (and especially in dining rooms by the empire's end). Set in hard
Roman cement Roman cement is a substance developed by James Parker in the 1780s, being patented in 1796. The name is misleading, as it is nothing like any material used by the Romans, but was a "natural cement" made by burning septaria – nodules that are ...
and buried under collapsed debris, thousands have been found throughout northern Europe. Simple mosaics consisted of a
geometric pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
, but an enormous range of cultural and artistic aspects of Roman life were also portrayed (including interpretations of classical literature and
Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
). Furniture was sparse by modern standards: a cupboard,
sideboard A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers ...
and an occasional table were set along the walls, and brought out when needed. Beds were simple frames. During the late empire, dining was on reclining couches set in threes. Most rooms were square, with chairs and a small table. Increased wealth was spent not on more furniture, but better-quality pieces.Cowell 1970,p.26. The most distinct structure at the villa was the Roman bath, its architectural showpiece: warm, noisy, clean and lavishly decorated. There were two types:
Spartan Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...
, with high-temperature
sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
-style dry heat and a “ Turkish” (moist heat) version with plunge baths. A well-equipped bath would provide both, with the bather entering an unheated room to undress and going into a warm room, a warmer room and a hot bath (perhaps including massage) followed by cleansing. Cleansing was done not with soap, but olive oil scraped off with a bronze tool known as a strigil. Cleansing was followed by a cold plunge bath. Lighting for the baths came through narrow
lancet windows A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet ...
. Rarely, pale green glass (glazed or held by crossbars) has been found in windows. Personal lighting came from hand-carried
oil lamps An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. Th ...
. Some lamps had multiple wicks, providing more light but consuming more olive oil. An oil lamp was capable of burning for 40 to 50 hours. On the outside of the villa, hinged wooden shutters protected windows. Walls were rendered or exposed timber and frame. Roofs were made from
thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
,
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
, stone,
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
or a combination, with occasional stone
finials A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, towe ...
. Flower
gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
decorated the villas, resembling ordered patches of
wild flowers A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...
. These gardens were considered necessary for festivals, family altars and banquets. Common flowers were roses,
violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...
s,
lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
, narcissus,
sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...
,
carnations ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of '' Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.M ...
, hyacinths, bluebells and
snapdragons ''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to r ...
.Rossi 1999,p.12. Vegetable gardens were laid out in beds, yielding
lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...
, cabbage,
leeks The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alliu ...
,
beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
and
radishes The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...
. Fruits consisted of
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
s,
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
s, cherries,
fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
s, almonds and plums. Most villas had an aisled barn (rarely two), storing equipment and produce rather than animals. Archeologists have found evidence in these barns of corn drying, metalwork and communal kitchens. The barns may have been partitioned, since workers often slept where they worked.


Religion

Roman villas illustrate the
Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
of Europe, since the country villa served as "pieces of cities broken off" and Christianity originated as an urban religion. The Galois aristocrats benefited from conversion by closer ties to Rome (and the emperor's family) after Constantine's conversion. Roman culture was flexible, so a multicultural blend (or sympathetic intermingling) was usually the result with many villas religiously ambiguous. The local peasants (and their pagan traditions) were ignored; pre-Roman religious sites evolved into Roman cult sites and (later) Christian pilgrimage destinations. Because the church kept all records throughout the fall of Rome and the Middle Ages, historians have little information about local non-Christian beliefs.Dyson 2003, p.79. Since historians only know in general terms about Celtic religion, archeology provides additional information. Peasants on the villa estates observed a complex
polytheism Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, t ...
. While Gallo-Roman religion considered Mercury (known as Lug by the Gauls) the chief god, there were many
nature gods Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
and goddesses for war, thunder, trees and youth. Earth goddesses were
Divona Divona (Gaulish language, Gaulish: ''Deuona'', ''Diuona'', 'Divine') is a Gallo-Roman religion, Gallo-Roman goddess of springs and rivers. The cult of the fresh waters appears to have been particularly important among Gauls, and Celts in general, ...
(water), Onuava (earth) and Epona (horses and fertility). Villa managers and owners were dependent on local labor. The aristocrats paid lip service to country life with its sturdy virtues, health and innocent pleasures; however, they also felt disdain (mingled with fear) for
peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
. The latter have always faced forces beyond their control, seeking to improve and influence their situation with religious acts. Villa owners sometimes created religious sites on their estates as a destination for
pilgrimages A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
, but most were abandoned during the Christian era.
Aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...
has confirmed pagan temples in high-villa-density areas by their distinctive square shape (with over 40 in Picardy alone).


Evolution and decline

As the central empire declined, villas became more self-sufficient and less part of a larger market economy. At the same time, a greater number of smaller villas appeared, exhibiting Roman culture and values. As Rome waned, the provinces waxed at first. From 235 AD (the death of Emperor
Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...
) a series of short-lived, sometime incompetent emperors ruled Rome. They generally died violently, after serving for an average of 2.6 years. The high turn-over represents the attempt to find a leader who could deal with the challenges facing the empire. Generals Postumus and Tetricu in Gaul established a separate 'Gallic' Empire 260-274 in response to an invasion of tribes in 259 which reached as far south as Tarrgona in Spain since the legitimate emperor in Rome was too pressed to respond. Bubonic plague (or
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
) may have swept the provinces, and villa owners feared bandit armies. A manpower shortage meant that fewer people were paying taxes.Fletcher 1998,p. 17-18 Some continental villa investors may have moved their holdings to
Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
. The Empire actually did not have a budget in the modern sense until Diocletian, 284-305. The authorities resorted to forced requisition to meet needs. From 257 CE to 276 CE began the first series of barbarian invasions pillaging the countryside. These outsiders sensed the disorganization of the Imperial armies on the frontier, and took advantage of the
power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
: Roman rulers debased the currency to pay the armies, creating enormous
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
. Arbitrary requisitions on rural population caused many to flee the anarchic conditions. Beginning in the early fourth century, more villas appeared to be uninhabited; coins and datable pottery become rare in the archaeological record. The market economy survived, unpredictably, in some parts of Gaul. During this time, archaeologists have found more wooden, temporary construction on villa grounds; some villas added fortifications. A recent, nuanced view is that although massacre sites at villas have been found, most barbarian newcomers arrived with
sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feed ...
rather than sword; they wanted to be settlers. Backed by armed
garrisons A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
living nearby, the new occupiers moved in and dominated politically and culturally. By the early fifth century all villas seemed abandoned as residences; however, archeologists have found small homes built next to the large houses. Some villas seem to have served as cemeteries. Pollen analyses for this period found no drop in crops, indicating that the population largely remained in place and sustained itself. The whole region between the Alps and the Pyrenees, the ocean and the Rhine suffered considerable damage. It took some decades to recover, however Gaul even in the north recovered some of its prosperity especially in the southern half of the country where numerous massive villas are attested. The beginning of the end of Roman Gaul came as a result of the invasions of tribes in 407 who eventually went to Spain in 409. However, the failure to control or remove the Visigoths in the southwest, the Burgundians in Savoy and the Franks in Belgium resulted in the end of Roman control post 455 (the assassination of Valentinian III opened the flood gates). In 472-475 CE, the Roman Empire lost control of its remaining provinces in southern Gaul to the Visigoths. In the north the last rulers claiming to be Roman were defeated by the Franks in 486. In 470 CE a mass migration to
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
from Britain occurred. There was continuity from the Roman villa culture and economy.Thomas 1996,p.96.


Modern era

The size and shape of Roman estates did not change from Roman to Frankish occupation;
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
or
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
boundaries remained from Roman and (probably pre-Roman) times. Some Christians willed their villas to the church in Spain, which may have also happened in France. Some of these became
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
;
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
es often occupied villa sites in the countryside as well. The suffix "-
ville ''Ville'' or "town", but its meaning in the Middle Ages was "farm" (from Gallo-Romance VILLA < Latin '''') and ...
" is thought to derive from ''villa'', and place names often derived from the villa name. From the eighth to the twelfth centuries,
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
agglomerations An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
in France began to acquire names. The prefix ''ville'' indicates a rural name; the suffix usually occurred in urban names (meaning the domain of a family's name). Most of this naming was done between the 10th and 11th centuries. A good way to see Roman Gaul is from the sky. Fields may be seen in a rectangular system, with walls and foundations evident. However, without an archeological dig it is often difficult to date artifacts.


See also

*
Jublains archeological site The Jublains archeaological site is a cluster of ruins, mostly dating back to Ancient Rome, found within the current French of Jublains in the of Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire region. On the site of a temple to the Celtic Diablintes, the ...


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Northwest Roman archaeology Gallo-Roman culture