CHATEAURENARD
Loiret, France.
The
valley of the Loing, in antiquity the principal waterway
linking the Loire and Seine basins, is extremely rich in
archaeological sites. The Loing is navigable at least as
far as Montargis, and consequently the most important
sites are to be found along its valley (see Pontchevron
and Montbouy). But cross-routes along the tributaries of
the Loing were also used; one of the busiest of these
followed the valley of the Ouanne which leads to the
valley of the Loing, a little upstream of Montargis, by
way of Auxerre. Montargis itself was occupied in the
Gallo-Roman period, as excavations attest, and the name
Conflans sur Loing at the confluence of the rivers indicates that there was another ancient site there. Going
up the Ouanne, we come to Châteaurenard, where a
small bath building has been found two km W of the
center of the modern village, known in the area as La
Bouzie. The complex consists of two main buildings; in
one a frigidarium has been identified on one side, and
some caldaria on the other. The second building is ca.
5-6 m E of the first; here a pool and a room have been
excavated. The latest period of occupation was the 4th c.
A number of rebuildings indicate that the baths were
used over a long period, indeed their construction may
be dated in the 2d c. We cannot yet tell whether these
are private baths belonging to a villa, or public baths
belonging to a vicus or conciliabulum (see Triguères and
Vendoeuvre en Brenne). Some tombs have also been found.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gallia 24, 2 (1966) 241; Abbé Nouel,
Origines Gallo-romaines du Sud du Bassin Parisien, 24,
31, 33; Mémoir inédit de M. Roncin (La vallée du Loing
dans l'Antiquité). Paper on the same subject by Dr.
Vauthey, Congrès des Sociétés Savantes de Reins, April
1970.
G. C. PICARD
