Construction work unearths a Roman mansion with thermal baths and heated floors

Road construction just south of Auxerre has exposed a Roman mansion with private baths and heat circulating under its floors. An official notice confirms a footprint of about 43,000 square feet roughly 2 miles from the city.

The residence likely dates between the first and fourth centuries C.E., anchoring a large farm estate in Roman Gaul. A modest building found in 1966 now appears to have been only a side wing.

Workers uncovered the larger plan while preparing a new road alignment. Nineteenth century notes had flagged the area, but the scale stayed hidden until now.

The work was led by Alexandre Burgevin, archaeologist in charge at the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP).

His research centers on Gallo Roman settlement archaeology and preventive archaeology, rescue digs carried out before construction. 

This dig shows how rescue science can rewrite local history. A once modest site has become a rare look at rural wealth.

Roman mansion layout

Archaeologists traced the perimeter walls of this Roman mansion, lined by covered galleries and formal rooms. A square garden of about 4,800 square feet sits at the center with a fountain and a shallow pool.

This is classic pars urbana, the household’s residential zone, with baths tucked into the east wing. Details like water features and showpiece rooms point to status.

The working pars rustica, the farm area, likely spread just beyond the walls to the west. Storage and service spaces probably handled crops, tools, and seasonal labor.

Builders used a plan common to elite homes in Gaul. Materials such as mosaics and painted plaster usually mark these Roman residences.

Heated floors and water displays

The villa used a hypocaust, an underfloor heating system that pushed hot air through open spaces beneath raised floors. 

Private baths were part of the package. Hot rooms, warm rooms, and cold dips turned bathing into a daily routine tied to comfort and status.

This setup took staff, fuel, and steady upkeep. That level of organization fits estates run by local elites.

Much of the ground here was never deeply plowed. That spared walls and floors that usually vanish on farms.

“For a rural site, it’s quite exceptional. You can walk on floors from the time period, circulate between rooms like the Gallo Romans did,” said Burgevin.

Archaeologists also see hints of at least two building phases. A third may emerge as the plan is finalized.

Those phases could track the growth of Autessiodurum, the ancient name for Auxerre. The town rose from a secondary settlement to a city capital by the fourth century C.E.

Life inside a Roman mansion

Living on a rural Roman estate was a mark of prestige. The owner, likely part of the regional elite, would have managed farmland that supplied both local and distant markets.

Such estates often produced wine, olive oil, grain, and livestock, linking rural wealth to urban demand.

The architecture itself was designed to project status. Expansive courtyards, colorful mosaics, and private bathhouses reflected both comfort and authority.

Wealthy landowners frequently hosted gatherings to reinforce their influence within the nearby city.

Domestic staff and enslaved workers maintained the estate, operated the baths, and managed agricultural labor. Their presence made such self-sufficient compounds function almost like miniature villages.

Archaeologists studying tool fragments, animal bones, and food waste will soon learn more about how the household operated from day to day.

A brief window for visitors

The site will open for one day during European Archaeology Days. Tours run from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free shuttle buses leave every 15 minutes from the Arquebuse parking lot on Boulevard du 11 Novembre.

Visitors will see the garden, the bath wing, and the galleries around them. Guides will explain how the farm side of the estate likely operated.

Archaeologists hope for small finds that can date rooms and track use. Objects from daily life often answer the hard questions that walls cannot.

Why this matters now

Large rural homes like this show how wealth spread outside cities in Roman Gaul. They also document how power tied to land ownership shaped local politics.

A site of this size helps test ideas about trade, farming, and climate in late antiquity. It also shows how road projects can uncover new chapters of the past.

Careful recording will keep the story alive after construction resumes. Digital models and samples can support years of lab work and teaching.

Archaeology helps connect everyday choices in the past to the places we rebuild today. That is why moments like this dig feel both local and far reaching.

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