ANDERITUM
or Gabalum (Javols) Lozère, France.
The chief city of the Gabales, 29 km from
Mende, 7 km S of Aumont and Route Nationale 9. It was
on the Lyon-Toulouse road and is mentioned in the
Peutinger Table. The site is at an altitude of 950 m, in a
granite basin drained by the Triboulin. The ancient city
lies outside the modern settlement.
Finds of gold coins and globular bowls with the inscription SITIO—CARISSIME NATE, AVIANA were noted at
the end of the 18th c. During the 19th c. there were a
variety of discoveries: a cippus bearing the inscription:
D. M. ALBINISE—NATORIS—DOMITIA LVRVNDIA; a circular wall in a field on the right bank of the Triboulin with
a milestone 2 in high in the middle of it bearing the inscription: IMP. CM CASS/ANIO LATINO POSTUMO VICTO/P
F AUG—PON. MA/XI MOT P. P. COS IIII/CIVIT. CAB; a monolithic limestone tablet with PEREGRI US FECIT on one side,
and coins of Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Domitianus,
Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, and Claudius Gothicus. The remains of a large monument (73 x
23 m) were uncovered on the left bank of the Triboulin.
It consisted of a wall surrounding small compartments,
and had a floor paved with granite. Among the objects
found here were fragments of a colossal statue ca. 6 in
high, 73 coins, terra sigillata from Banassac, and painted
ware. A badly damaged mosaic was discovered on the
right bank of the river, and on the left, 14 cellas decorated with frescos. In the same sector were 43 adjacent
compartments in an area covering a little less than a
hectare, and a semicircular pool 3 m in diameter and
2.55 m deep. Steps led down to the water.
Excavations since 1937 have followed a wall on the
left bank for 30 m, and several fragments of Corinthian
capitals have been found. Some long sections of wall
were located on the right bank. A rudimentary stratigraphy was noted at the NE corner of the present-day
cemetery, down to the 1.8 m level, revealing broken
glass, undecorated situlae, amphora sherds, bronze spatulas, needles of bone. Below that level were found Gallic
coins, spindle whorls, silex strigils, and a bronze fibula.
Another semicircular pool was discovered near the one
found previously, and the river quays were located. They
are built of large blocks of granite and extend for 90 in.
The excavations have yielded over 35,000 objects, including more than 100 intact bowls. The most interesting
piece was a lifesize statue of Bacchus. On his left are
two casks, a small amphora, and a cornucopia; and on
his right a panther with one paw on an overturned vase,
and a climbing vine.
Three burned-out strata date the occupation of the
site. The earliest contained the great mass of archaeological evidence and is fixed between 140 and 180 A.D. The
second dates from the 3d c. The latest is Early Christian.
The finds are in a storehouse on the site.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J.J.M. Ignon,
Mémoire de la Société d'Agriculture de Mende (1830) 28-31; (1831) 33; (1832)
32; (1839) 171; id.,
Annuaire de la Lozère (1830) 87-90; id., “Notes sur les monuments antiques du Département,”
Mémoire de la Société d'Agriculture de la Lozère (1840-41) 152-75; De More, “Monnaies trouvées à Javols,” ibid. (1856) 247-48; id., “Fouilles de 1857,” ibid. (1859) 48-53; (1863) 113; id.,
Congreés archéologique de France, Mende 99-110, 210-14, 230; A. de Caumont,
BMon (1857) 581-83; (1862) 288; Delapierre, “Fouilles 1863,”
Bull. soc. d'agriculture de la Lozère (1864) 337-39; (1866) 23; Laurens, ibid. (1869) 429; (1870) 23
(bridge); Gemer-Durand, ibid. (1882) 142-46; A. Boose,
“Monnaies de Javols,” ibid. (1890) 106-7; Portal,
Notes
historiques et statistiques de Javols (1890); A. Remize,
Saint-Privat: les fouilles de Javols; F. Lot, “Recherches
sur la population et la superficie des cités remontant à
la période Gallo-romaine,”
Bibliothèque des Hautes
Études (1950); M. Balmelle,
Répertoire archéologique du département de la Lozère, période Gallo-romaine; id.,
Précis d'histoire du Gévaudan; id., “Anderitum capitale des Gabales,”
Bulletin de la Sociétédes Lettres, Sciences et Arts de la Lozère (1957) 31-35; id., “Vestiges nouvellement découvertes à Javols,” ibid. (1959) 15; C. Morel, “Compte rendu des fouilles faites a Javols en 1937 et 1950,”
86e Congrès des Sociéteés savantes à Montpellier 1961; A. Dalle, “Javols, capitale des Gabales,”
Lou Païs (Feb-June 1968); Walckenaer, “Mémoire sur l'étendue et les limites des Gabali,”
Nouveaux; M. Bouchard,
Histoire des Fouilles de Javols; F. André “Notes sur les communes de la Lozère,” Archives departementales J. 900
Fonds. P. PEYRE
