SAINT-PAUL-LES-ROMANS
Drôme, France.
A site in Gallia Narbonensis near Romans in the
plain of the Isère. Between 1865 and 1956 fragments of
mosaics were found here, as well as pottery, several
hoards of coins, and two marble busts.
Since 1964 a large Gallo-Roman villa has been excavated, and the plan is beginning to emerge. Porticos
lined three sides of an inner courtyard (80 x 23 m).
A gutter encircles the portico, leading on the N side to
a very long, rectangular pool (1.5 m wide) with a semicircular apsidal exedra. On the N side the portico is flanked by three rooms with mosaics, one showing the seasons, another Orpheus, and the third the Labors of
Hercules. The E portico has four rooms on its outside
wall, one is decorated with frescos, two have a hearth
and hypocausts, and the fourth has a floor of monochrome white mosaic. To the S the gutter ends in a sewer. The villa dates from the 2d-3d c., but the site was occupied from the 2d c. B.C. to the 4th c.
The regional museum of Romans houses the principal
finds; the mosaics are protected in situ.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
M. Vignard, “La villa gallo-romaine de
Saint-Paul-lès-Romans (Drôme),”
Ogam 17 (1965) 127-37; M. Leglay, “Informations,”
Gallia 24 (1966) 521-22; 26 (1968) 594-95; 29 (1971) 435.
M. LEGLAY
