théâtre romain de Montaudou

About théâtre romain de Montaudou

The Roman theater of Montaudou is a performance building built in Gaul, in the city of Arveni, in the present-day commune of Ceyrat in the Puy-de-Dôme département. Its remains have been described since the early 19th century, thanks to the presence of a long wall some fifty meters long, known locally as the Saracen Wall. First interpreted as a sanctuary dedicated to Mercury, then as a Roman villa, the hypothesis of an ancient Roman theater emerged in the second half of the 20th century. However, it was not until a series of surveys in the 2000s that this interpretation was validated. Built at the end of the 1st century with a diameter of 51 m, the theater was extended to 81 m in the second half of the 2nd century. However, little is known about the building's evolution and abandonment. While it is now accepted that the theater is not isolated, particularly from probable dwellings and a potential temple with a centered plan, the exact nature of this pole located 1.5 km southwest of Augustonemetum/Clermont-Ferrand is not known, and the hypothesis of a secondary agglomeration independent of the Arverne capital has been put forward.

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