The Roman amphitheater of Augustoritum

The amphitheater of Limoges, sometimes called the arènes de Limoges, is a Roman amphitheater built in the 2nd century in the city of Augustoritum, today Limoges. This large monument, measuring 137 by 116 meters, was very likely constructed under the Antonine dynasty. All vestiges spared from the site's use as a quarry starting in the Early Middle Ages were classified as historical monuments in 1968, but they remain buried to ensure their preservation.

The amphitheater is situated at a height constituting the high point of the Gallo-Roman agglomeration. It is built to the northwest of the ancient city, at the crossroads of the Roman road from Lugdunum-Lyon to Mediolanum Santonum-Saintes (Via Agrippa) and the one connecting Limoges to Limonum (Poitiers), at the northern end of the cardo maximus. Augustoritum was, at that time, one of the few cities to benefit from both an amphitheater and a theater.

At the fall of the Roman Empire, the amphitheater was already abandoned and served as a quarry for the construction of dwellings and the first churches. The arena measures 64 by 48 meters, and the monument is one of the largest of the Roman Gaul. It follows the model of amphitheaters with a hollow structure, similar to the amphitheater of Nîmes, but features an interior gallery and two levels of 64 arcades on the facade.

Most of the remains were hidden by the work of the intendant Charles Boucher d'Orsay in 1718 during the layout of the Jardin d'Orsay, which led to the leveling of the site and its backfilling several meters deep. Renovation work in 1966 allowed for the rediscovery of some vestiges. After study, all vestiges still in the open air were buried in 1998 to ensure their conservation.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons