More Roman Road Uncovered in Aix en Provence

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric:

It’s so fascinating that every time people start digging in Aix, they come up with remains from Roman times. And the latest to be uncovered is 50 metres of a road near to the hospital.

There is to be a new car park for the hospital and a bus lane on ave Philippe Solari, and the archaeologists started work on July 11th, ahead of the diggers, despite desert-like conditions of extreme heat. Continue reading here for details on this stunning historical discovery a significant (and well used) Roman road that dates from some time between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD.

Roman Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence is known as the City of Water. Settled in 122 BC by the Romans who found natural springs, they called the city Aquae Sextiae after one of their important consuls Sextius Calvinus. The “Waters of Sextius” provided the population with water (both hot and cold) for daily life, animal husbandry and thermal baths. On the site of these Roman baths is a commercial spa called Thermes Sextius.

Virtually every time there are ‘travaux‘ in Aix, the archaeologists who precede the bulldozers unearth Roman pottery, statues, funeral urns, drainage systems and stretches of road.

Dans les Rues D’Aquae Sextiae – Aix Antique is a tour created by Frédéric Paul of Le Visible est Invisible. The company offers walking tours in French, English, German, and Italian helping you understand the first Roman city in Provence. The Roman city is hard to imagine as most traces have been removed, buried or reused, but Frédéric and his team bring history into view.