Description

LONG Read
Secrets of the Rhône: The archaeological treasures of the river in Arles
Arles, Actes Sud, 2008. In-4° publisher’s cardboard binding illustrated in colors, 267 pages, numerous photographic illustrations, figures, plans in black and color in and out of text
Pleasant copy

The work of the Rhône Archaeological Map of the DRASSM (Department of Underwater and Underwater Research, Ministry of Culture) has made exceptional discoveries in the river in Arles. In addition to the wreck of a Roman barge from the 1st century BC. 30 m long, these searches at a depth of 10 m in the Trinquetaille district brought up from the water a veritable treasure trove of marble and bronze objects. Among these remarkable discoveries we can see a bust of Caesar, unique in the world, probably sculpted during the dictator’s lifetime when he founded the Roman colony of Arles. We can also discern a 180 m high marble statue of Neptune dedicated to the Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons a victory and a ‘Marsyas’ (or captive warrior) of Greek inspiration both in bronze and of incomparable beauty a tiara of Artemis of Ephesus a head of Juno as well as an important series of sculptures and architectural elements (busts bases of statues and portraits in marble Corinthian capitals fragments of entablatures and cornices shafts and bases of columns marble veneers and coins.). All of these objects are undoubtedly similar to the remains of a rich district which included public religious and funerary buildings. These elements abandoned in the river or torn away by a flood bear witness to the alterations or destruction of this district between the Caesarean era and the 4th century AD. These discoveries undoubtedly bring new things to Arles…

The work of the Rhône Archaeological Map of the DRASSM (Department of Underwater and Underwater Research, Ministry of Culture) has made exceptional discoveries in the river in Arles. In addition to the wreck of a Roman barge from the 1st century BC. 30 m long, these searches at a depth of 10 m in the Trinquetaille district brought up from the water a veritable treasure trove of marble and bronze objects. Among these remarkable discoveries we can see a bust of Caesar, unique in the world, probably sculpted during the dictator’s lifetime when he founded the Roman colony of Arles. We can also discern a 180 m high marble statue of Neptune dedicated to the Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons a victory and a ‘Marsyas’ (or captive warrior) of Greek inspiration both in bronze and of incompa