In chic district, Roman house with terrace and stone bench

[Imperial Dave]

http://www.archeodunum.com/saint-romain-en-gal/

needs to be translated but a really nice find especially the bench!

[Erpingham]

The figurines were interesting - how they were found upright in situ.

[Imperial Dave]

well both things, the figurines and the bench.....all upright seemingly 'just left'

[Jim Webster]

well both things, the figurines and the bench.....all upright seemingly 'just left'

but 'just left' long enough to get covered over!

[Justin Swanton]

An off the cuff translation from the intro and sections about the bench and statues:


Dans quartier chic, maison romaine avec terrasse et banc en pierre
Saint-Romain-en-Gal « Route Nationale », principaux résultats de la fouille archéologique conduite par Archeodunum en hiver 2019-2020

C'est à Saint-Romain-en-Gal, dans un quartier très aisé de la ville antique de Vienna que six archéologues d'Archeodunum ont réalisé une fouille de 850 m2, avant la construction de la nouvelle résidence « Les Reflets » édifiée par la SCCV LES REFLETS / OXALYS.

L'équipe est intervenue durant l'hiver 2019-2020. Elle a mis au jour un système de terrasses : la partie amont était bâtie, alors que la partie aval correspondait à un parc ou à un jardin. On y a trouvé, miraculeusement intacts après deux millénaires, un banc et un couple de statuettes.

In an upmarket suburb, a Roman house with a terrace and a stone bench.

It was at Saint-Romain-en-Gal, in a very wealthy suburb of the ancient city of Vienna, that six archaeologists from Archeodunum completed a dig measuring 850m2, before the construction of a new residence "Les Reflets", constructed by SCCV LES REFLETS / OXALYS.

The team worked during the winter of 2019-2020. It exposed a system of terraces: the higher section was built over whilst the lower section corresponded to a park or a garden. A bench and a couple of statues were found, miraculously intact after two millennia.

Sur cette terrasse, l'équipe d'Archeodunum a fait deux découvertes peu ordinaires. Tout d'abord, c'est un banc en pierre de taille (fig. 7), encore debout après deux millénaires – bien qu'un peu de guingois ! Fait d'une assise posée sur deux pieds moulurés, il présente de frappantes analogies avec les bancs qui ornent nos jardins.

On this terrace the Archeodunum team made two unusual discoveries: First, a bench carved from s tone, still upright after two millennia albeit a little askew! Made of a seat placed on two moulded stone feet, it shows striking similarities with the benches that are found in our gardens.

Un peu plus loin, ce sont deux fragiles statuettes, miraculeusement intactes elles aussi, qui ont émergé sous la truelle et le pinceau des archéologues. Elles sont restées debout, disposées dos à dos et séparées par un petit bloc, à l'emplacement choisi par leur propriétaire. Hautes d'une quinzaine de centimètres, elles sont en terre cuite blanche.

Une des figurines représente une Vénus sortant du bain (fig. 8, 10), un thème très fréquent dans l'iconographie gallo-romaine. L'autre est un personnage barbu, dont l'identité est pour l'heure énigmatique (fig. 9-10). L'ensemble témoigne sans doute d'une pratique religieuse privée, à l'instar des vierges ou des crucifix que l'on trouve encore dans nombre de nos maisons.

A little further on two fragile statues - also intact by a miracle - emerged under the trowel and brush of the archaeologists. They were upright, placed back to back and separated by a small block, in the place chosen by their owner. About 15cm tall, they are made of white baked clay.

One of the figures represents Venus emerging from a bath, a frequent theme in Gallo-roman iconography. The other is a bearded individual, of which the identity is for the moment enigmatic. Together they are without doubt proof of a private religious practice, rather like the Virgins or the crucifixes that can still be found in several of our homes.

(The literary style is a tad flowery.  )

[Imperial Dave]

(The literary style is a tad flowery.  )

and I quite like it

[Jim Webster]

(The literary style is a tad flowery.  )

and I quite like it

The supreme elegance of the prose, it's wit, erudition, and ostentatious use of the finer parts of the vernacular, renders literary criticism nugatory 

[Justin Swanton]

(The literary style is a tad flowery.  )

and I quite like it

The supreme elegance of the prose, it's wit, erudition, and ostentatious use of the finer parts of the vernacular, renders literary criticism nugatory 

Sorry, used the wrong word. I mean to say that the prose is a magnificent bloom of French verbosity eloquence.

[Jim Webster]

(The literary style is a tad flowery.  )

and I quite like it

The supreme elegance of the prose, it's wit, erudition, and ostentatious use of the finer parts of the vernacular, renders literary criticism nugatory 

Sorry, used the wrong word. I mean to say that the prose is a magnificent bloom of French verbosity eloquence.

[Imperial Dave]

I still like it