ATHIES
Arrondissement of Péronne, canton of
Chaulnes, Somme, France.
A Gallo-Roman
site (100 x 400 m).
The site which includes to the NE a group of buildings of uncertain use. Rectangular rooms connected by
a narrow passage may represent the remains of a remodeled hypocaust. In the other sector (also to the N) a
cellar (3.22 x 4.3 m) has been uncovered. Three apses of
varying width (1.2-1.6 m) were found along the W wall,
and a larger one in the N wall. The apses terminate in
half-domes and are decorated in a peculiar fashion: the
masonry has regularly spaced chaincourses with tiles laid
in V-patterns between them. The cellar, which had a
large vestibule, was remodeled several times, but it is
not yet possible to establish a chronology. Nor is it possible to connect this ensemble with a network of Roman
roads, although it was located between two highways,
one to the N running from Amiens to Saint Quentin, the
other to the SE, from Bavay to Beauvais.
The artifacts, rather few at present, are in the Athies
town hall. The cellar, which is worth preserving, can be
visited.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
M. Guillemain, “La villa gallo-romaine
d'Athies (Somme),”
Revue du Nord 155 (1967) 715-20;
J. Desbordes,
Gallia 32 (1973) 346-47.
P. LEMAN
