Jublains anglais:Mise en page 1.qxd

Towns and regions of art and historyThe Region Coëvrons-MayenneWhatever its date may be, the castle of Jublains isthe best preserved or to speak more exactly, theless ruined of all the roman fortifications erectedon our soil and, in this respect, it’s a unique anda highly interesting monument.Prosper Mérimée / Letter from the 11 th of october 1837 (Archives de la Direction du Patrimoine)discover thestoryofJublains,roman town

A granite plateauJublains, roman townLocated at 35 km north from Laval, Jublains was in theAntiquity, Noviodunum, Diablintes’ capital.On the border of a plateauJublains is at the southeast corner ofa round summit plateau. Situated inchange of incline, the site dominatesthe Évron basin from 40 m.The horizon is closed to the east and tothe southeast by a chain of high hills ofwhich the highest are the Montaigu,the Mont Rochard and the hillock ofSainte-Suzanne. A modest valley,occupied by the Moulin Neuf stream,separates the town from the village ofDoucé, at 1,3 km. The North andthe West have no visibility from thesummit of the plateau.A granite undergroundThe antique town lays on a graniteground. This large grained graniteprovided most of the materials forthe building of walls and ways. Someclay and sand deposits are in the plain,until the Bias stream. The Gallo-romanalso used a clear grey coarse grainedsandstone for most of the constructions.It was used for columns and the baseof the great wall of the fortress. At theend of the 19 th century, the opening ofa quarry at Pierre-Aiguë, on the districtof Sainte-Gemmes-le-Robert, allowedto determine its origin. Some traces ofan ancient exploitation, as some abandonedcolumn shafts, were discoveredthere.Map of the Gaul. 1590.This map from Abraham Ortelius tries to locate thegallish people named in the antic texts. It still has a lot ofmistakes. It sites the Diablintes in the Finistère.Diablinte coin.(Archaeological museum of Jublains)

Children before the fortress.(Baron de Wismes’ engraving. 1862)Birth and decline of a townThe birth of NoviodunumBefore the conquest of the Gaul bythe Romans, the territory of Jublainsbelonged to the Diablintes, one of theethnic groups of the Aulerque’s nation,which spreads out from the Seine to theMassif Armoricain. From the 4 thcentury B. C., the Gallic had edified asanctuary at Jublains, at the northernextremity of the antique town.On the eve of the conquest, a fewhouses settled nearby but the word“town” cannot be employed yet. Theurbanisation of the site began aroundthe beginning of our era, particularlyfrom the Tiberius’ reign (14-37 A.D.).The town took the name ofNoviodunum (“New Town”) as craftsmensettled in. At the beginning, thedwellings were scattered, without aprevious urban plan.The capital of a cityThe Gaul was organised by the emperorAugustus (27 B. C.-14 A. D.) in cities;kind of self-governing micro-statescorresponding to the main Gallicpeople area. Noviodunum became themain town of the Diablintes’ city,which streched over two thirds of theMayenne and the south of the Ornedepartments. The councillors met at theforum, the heart ofthe town. One ofthese local notables;Orgétorix, offered atheatre to his city.years 260-285. The Gaul was periodicallyinvaded by Germans. Somepeasants revolted against the taxpressure. A fortified building, settledclose to Jublains, was surrounded by anearthen rampart. It became then a realfortress by the construction of an outerstony wall, remained unfinished. Butthe town was declining. It lost its positionof capital during the 5 th century, asthe Diablintes’ city was incorporatedinto the Cenomans’ one: that is theorigin of the Maine, whose capital wasLe Mans. In the early Middle Ages,some quarters became cemeteries.Nevertheless, the town subsisted untilthe Carolingian period. It vanished atthe beginning of the 10 th century, as anew power place asserted itself, 10 kmfurther: at Mayenne, where a palacereused the stones picked up in Jublains.JugsMural fragment from the temple. Pigeon.A vanished capitalIn the 3 rd century,the Roman empirewas faced with acrisis which reacheda peak during the

NoviodunumThe first town developed itselfin an anarchic manner. Then,it transformed at the end of the1 st century A. D. and adoptedall the urban principles and theequipment of the Roman cities.An antique urbanism exampleThe urban projectIn the second half of the 1 st centuryA. D. the inhabitants undertook somegreat work whichchanged the aspect ofthe town. They startedin replacing the oldGallic temple by amonument in stonearound 66-68. Thetheatre took place atthe southern border,on the side of the plateau,800 m furtherfrom the temple.Between these twomonuments the streetsadopted a geometricnetwork covering 25ha and dividing thespace into rectangularislands. Two othersmonuments are on thenorth-south axis ofthe town: the forumand the baths. A fortified buildingwas built at the borders of the town.The urban project was realised in itsbroad lines but never utterly finished.

The fortressThe Gallo-roman fortress is the largest andthe best conserved monument, but alsoa real riddle concerning its functions.1645723An enigmatic monumentA composite monumentThis fortified set was not built in onetime. It results from the addition ofthree fitted together elements; a centralbuilding, then, an earthen rampartpreceded by a gap and a surroundingwall. Its function might have evolvedduring these transformations.The central building 1Maybe built around 200 A. D., thecentral building is a large room witha central yard 4 , endowed with a floorand 4 square towers at its corners 5 .It is accompanied by two small bathsbuildings 6 7 . The thickness of thewalls and the locking system of thedoors by wooden boards give adefensive character to the edifice.The archaeologists have not agreed yetto consider this edifice as civil warehouseor as a fort. Some recent studieshint that there was a military presencein the region from the 1 st century A. D.The earthen rampart 2Initially endowed with a large gap,it was realised around 290, in a contextof troubles. The multiplication ofburied treasures of this period provethe fears of populations concerningthe invasion rumours, the piracy actsalong the Channel or the peasantrevolts.The stone rampart 3The Roman Empire recovered itself,under the emperor Diocletien’s reign.He reorganized it in instituting theTetrarch (two Supremes to govern theOccident, two others to govern theOrient). It coincided with the beginningof the construction of the outer wall,around 295. It may aim at turning thesite into a real fortress for the resupplyingof the camps which settled onthe Channel coasts in order to struggleagainst Saxon pirates. Yet, owing toa changing of project, the work wasgiven up before the completion of thewall. The fortress was deserted in the4 th century A. D. whereas Jublains wasirremediably declining.

The bathsBuilt during the transformationof the town, they are nowadayslocated under the church.The theatreIt marked the southern limit ofthe town. Two buildings succeededthemselves on this place.The heat and the coldFrom the baths…The baths were built about the end ofthe 1 st century. They are settled in anisland, in the main axis of the town;their building thus succeeded to thesetting up of the urban plan. Strikingmonument of the town and symbol ofthe Romanization, they were a place ofhygiene, sport and therapy but alsoa civic and cultural life one. The monumentalset was delimited by a portico,shops and rooms of various functions;reading, fight training etc. The bathsbuilding was in the middle of this set.The bather came in by a small yard.He left his clothes in the cloakroomand crossed the cold and warm roomsto perspire in the sweat room andwashed himself in the hot baths.Finally, he came back on his steps tobathe in the cold baths. The successionof cold and hot baths results of a use ofbaths definitively established around 80A. D.… To the churchAfter 350, Christianity spreads out intothe West, in the towns first. About the5 th century, the Noviodunum baths,unused, were converted into churches.In pulling down the partitions and fillingup the basins, the faithful got alengthened room fitted to their liturgicalneeds instead of the pagan templewhich had never been aimed at greetinga faithful assembly. Modified duringcenturies, the church kept its Galloromanmasonries of several meters highuntil 1877, where it was utterly reconstructed.Thus, the base of the walls andthe concave parts, basins or hypocaust(heating by the soil system), are theonly remnants of the roman building.Two theatres1112836475 510964 3127891011The Orgétorix’s gift to his cityThe theatre is on the southern side ofthe plateau on which the town stretchedout. It thus benefits from thenatural slope, completed on its sidesby cuts in order the spectators to dominatethe scene. An inscription, exhibitedin the museum revealed that thistheatre was offered to the town by aperson: Orgétorix, surely a richDiablinte, member of the Decurionorder, who ruled the city. The antiquenotables justified their power in offeringsome presents to the community.With its elliptic shape, Orgétorix’s theatre distinguishes itself from theclassical Roman models, notably bythe lack of the stage wall, replaced bya small semi-circular building. It ischaracteristic of a few monumentsbuilt in Gaul on the 1 st century A. D.Cold baths roomFirst state of the cold bathsLater state of the cold bathsAnnexe basinWarm roomHypocaust supportsRemnant of the overhanging soilSweat roomEarly Middle Ages tombConstructions under the squareHot baths room

The templeIn 66-68 A. D. its reconstructionwas the starting point of theurban landscape transformation.The second theatreAt a remained unknown date (maybethe second half of the 2 nd century), thetheatre was rebuilt at the same place.Larger than the preceding one, the newbuilding adopted a semi-circular form.It also comprises a wide area surroundedby a wooden fence and destined tothe shows. This ones might have evolved:beside stage representations, somegladiators fights, hunts etc. developedthemselves.123456789Outlines of the second theatreOutlines of the first theatreCorridor access of the vomitoriumPlace of the tiersEntertainment area of the second theatreOrchestra of the first theatreIron Age steleStage building of the first theatreSouth-east corner of the second theatre(best preserved part)A gallo-roman templeThe sanctuary of the cityIts reconstruction began about 66-68and pursued until the 120 years.Located at the doors of the town,this wide proportioned monumentwas the Diablintes’ sanctuary:here was practised the main cult ofthe city maybe associated with theimperial cult.A local goddess in a classical templeThe outer wall (or peribolus) is asquare of 78 m side. Inside, 4 porticoesconstitute a kind of cloister surroundingthe sacred area where the temple whichsheltered the divine statue, is situated.Of peripteral* plan, it rises on apodium and adopts the Corinthianorder. Some fragments of a statue werefound. They represent the MotherGoddess under the shape of a womansat down in an armchair. This divinitybelongs to the Celtic pantheon but wassurely assimilated to a Latin goddessduring the Gallo-roman period.12345678910PeribolusWestern entranceInner porticoTemplePodium structureStaircaseShellBuilding for ablutionsHalf-circular basinEastern entrance31*Peripteral:the cella (room) sheltering241045the statue is surroundedby a colonnade gallery onits four sides.569213767988

Let’s tell you the story of Coëvrons-Mayenne, a region of art andhistory ...... in the company of a guide-lecturer autorised by the ministeryof culture.The guide will welcome you. He knows all about Coëvrons-Mayenne and will give you the vital elements required to understandthe scale of a landscape, the story of the region in its differentareas. The guide is there for your benefit, feel free to ask anyquestions you may have.The heritage mediation serviceruns the region of art and history Coëvrons-Mayenne. It organisesevents throughout the year for individuals and groups (adults andschool children) .If you are with a groupCoëvrons-Mayenne offers visits throughout the year subject toreservation.Informations:Region of art and history1, Fouquet de la Varenne street53270 SAINTE-SUZANNEtél. 02 43 58 13 00email :coevrons-mayenne@cg53.frCoëvron-Mayenne is part of the national network of towns and regionsof art and historyThe architecture and heritage division of the ministry of cultureand communication attributes the name of “towns and regions ofart and history” to local communities which promote their heritage.It guarantees the skills of guide-lecturers and promoters ofheritage and the quality of their activities. From ancient remains toXXI st century architecture, the towns and regions present theirheritage in all its diversity. A network of 146 towns and regions iscurrently in existence throughout France.Cov. Aerial view of Jublains, Bearded God.Museum of Jublains13, Libération street53160 JUBLAINStél. 02 43 58 13 20email :musee.jublains@cg53.frgraphics conception : CG53 Patrimony service from LM Communiquer.Photos : CG 53, Bertrand Bouflet.Nearby sites,Laval, Le Mans, Angers, Vitré, Fougères, Nantes, Guérande,Fontenay-le-Comte and Saumur have been granted the name“town of art and history”; the Perche Sarthois et the Vallée duLoir have been granted the name “region of art and history”.