Rue de la Porcelaine

The excavations carried out between 1996 and 1999 below the Rue de la Porcelaine resulted in large quantities of remains which have extended our knowledge of a hitherto unknown sector of the Roman town, which has proved to have been occupied continually from the beginning of the 1^st century to the middle of the 2^nd century AD at least.

The former shore of the lake has been identified at the bottom of this terrain thanks to the presence of lake-bed sand containing rolled tiles.  Surveys have revealed tiers of Roman buildings on the slope of the hill.  Two large buildings side-by-side and separated by a path may have been intended for artisanal activities or were storage depots.

Pipes, a well and a fountain were also discovered.  The well was cased with a re-used wooden barrel, three staves of which carried an inscription.  The fountain (exhibited in the Museum) was supplied with clean water by a network of tiled drains and for the time being is the only evidence of how the inhabitants obtained their daily supply of water.

Also found in the sector were 26 graves of new-born infants (one grave is exhibited in the Museum) and a ditch mainly containing pottery and charred bones.  The study of these materials (exhibited in the Museum) suggests that the remains of a funeral ceremony (banquet?) were deposited in the ditch.