CESSERO
(Saint-Thibéry) Hérault, France.
Situated on the right bank of the Hérault ca. 10 km from
the mouth of the river, this settlement owed its prosperity
chiefly to the fact that it stood at a crossroads. From the
7th to the 1st c. B.C. it was a simple oppidum built on
a level stretch of basalt overlooking the river, which was
crossed here by the road to Spain. After the Roman conquest a road station was set up at the foot of the hill
on the same road, now rebuilt by Domitian at the point
where, according to Ptolemy (55.10.6), it was met by
another road leading to Lodève (Luteva) and Rodez
(Segodunum). Mentioned in the
Peutinger Table, the
road itineraries, and the Apollinarian traveling cups, the
mansio probably became an important center; Pliny
ranks it among the oppida Latina.
Sporadic excavations on the oppidum summit (100 m
each side) have revealed the remains of a rampart of
medium-sized stones, a short section of which shows
Greek influence, and some huts of dry stone that can
be dated by Ionian and Attic imported wares. The post
continued to be occupied after the creation of the statio.
This latter is probably covered by the present-day settlement and no conclusive traces of it have yet been found.
The path of the Via Domitia, at least, has been clearly
established: the road crossed the Hérault downstream
from Saint-Thibéry at the point where a mediaeval
bridge with a flattened arch, once thought to be Roman,
stands today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. Coulouma & G. Claustres, “L'oppidum de Cessero, près de Saint-Thibéry,”
Gallia 2 (1943)
8-18.
Y. SOLIER
