CULARO
(Grenoble) Isère, France.
A city
of Gallia Narbonensis in the territory of the Allobroges
on the Isère. Apparently mentioned by Cicero (
Ad fam.
10.23.7): Civarone (for Cularone) ex Allobrogum finibus; cited in the
Peutinger Table as Culabone; and by
the Geographer of Ravenna (4.27) as Curarore. The
Celtic oppidum was probably situated on a hill close to
the river. It was a customs post of the Quadragesima
Galliarum. Between 288 and 292 a rampart was built to
protect the city against the barbarian invasions. Under
Gratianus it became Gratianopolis, whence the modern
name Grenoble (
Not. Gall. 11.5; Sid. Apoll.
Epist.
3.14.1).
The surrounding wall was oval and had two gateways,
known by their inscriptions (
CIL XII, 2229): one, known
as the Rome gate (near the Frères Prêcheurs), was
called the Gate of Jove; the other, the Vienne gate near
the cathedral, was called the Gate of Hercules. They
seem to mark an oblique axis oriented nearly E-W; the
corresponding N-S road has not yet been found.
Slightly to the N along the Isère, the surrounding wall
stood until the city was seized by the Protestant forces
of Lesdiguières in 1591. A few fragments can still be
seen, especially under the Treille de Stendhal (Jardin de
Ville). Its circuit can be traced almost in its entirety,
thanks to ancient plans. Several fragments have recently
been unearthed: near the cathedral parts of the wall and
two towers have been preserved, but in the Rue de la
République and Rue Lafayette quarter the fragments
were destroyed after excavation. The towers, three of
which have been found, are 22-24.4 m apart and 7.8 m
in diameter; the foundations are very solid. The walls,
4.5-5 m thick at the bottom, are faced on both sides with
small rectangular mortared stones; the core consists of
irregular blocks and other material bedded in a mortar
of broken tiles. The foundations have four main elements:
wooden supports 40-50 cm apart (which make it a wall
on piles); above these a regular layer of boulders; then
some rubble; and finally a course of flat stones. Outside
the wall there was probably a ditch.
The main Christian monument is the Saint-Laurent
crypt on the right bank of the Isère. The building has
been variously dated: from the late 6th to the late 8th c.
Some of the capitals follow Graeco-Roman models,
others are clearly Roman, and several columns are made
of reused material. A 4th c. Gallo-Roman mausoleum,
destroyed at the time of the Lombard invasions in 574,
and a burial vault of the same period have also been
found.
The museum contains inscriptions, pottery, and architectural and sculptural fragments.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Blanchet,
Enceintes romaines de la
Gaule (1907) 149
P; R. Blanchard,
Grenoble, étude de géographie urbaine (1912)
PI; H. Müller,
Les origines de Grenoble (1930)
P; Grenier,
Manuel I (1931) 413-, 518, 552; R. Girard, “La crypte Saint-Laurent de Grenoble,”
CahHistArch 6 (1961) 157-63
PI; id.,
Les remparts gallo-romains de Grenoble (1963)
PI; M. Leglay, “Informations,”
Gallia 22 (1964) 519; 24 (1966) 509; 29 (1971) 427.
M. LEGLAY
