L'amphithéâtre de Caesarodunum / The Caesarodunum Amphitheatre (Tours, France)
N 47° 23.738 E 000° 41.873
31T E 326280 N 5251700
...not so far from the Tours Cathedral you can find massive walls of one of the biggest amphitheatres in ancient Roman Empire - the Caesarodunum Amphitheatre.
Waymark Code: WME5PN
Location: Centre-Val-de-Loire, France
Date Posted: 04/07/2012
Views: 26
...not so far from the Tours Cathedral you can find massive walls of one of the biggest amphitheatres in ancient Roman Empire - the Caesarodunum Amphitheatre.
The imposing scale of the structure' remnants and the systematic use of brick shows that the amphitheater dates from the time of Hadrian (117-138) or shortly thereafter. Several scientists changed the opinion about purpose of the building - maybe it has also fortification function. So, the question, if preserved Roman walls are only parts of amphitheatre or fortress is still open...
In Gallic times the Tours was important as a crossing point of the river Loire. Becoming part of the Roman Empire during the first century A.D., the city was named "Caesarodunum" (Caesar Dunum - "Hill of Caesar"). The name evolved in the 4th century when the original Gallic name, Turones, became first "Civitas Turonum" then "Tours". It was at this time that the amphitheatre of Tours, one of the five largest in the Empire, was built. Tours became the metropolis of the Roman province of Lugdunum towards 380–388, dominating the Loire Valley, Maine and Brittany.