Archaeologists find a French ‘Pompeii’ on building site

FRENCH archaeologists have discovered a “little Pompeii”, the remarkably well preserved remains of an entire district of an ancient Roman town in the east of the country.

Villas and public buildings have been unearthed in what Benjamin Clément, the archaeologist leading the dig, described as “undoubtedly the most exceptional excavation of a Roman site in 40 or 50 years”. Many household objects are still where they were left by residents who fled fires.

Some villas date from the first century AD and the district is believed to have been inhabited for about 300 years until it was abandoned by its inhabitants after a series of fires.

Like Pompeii, the ancient Roman site near Naples, much of it was buried under ash which helped to preserve it over the centuries. Mr Clément said: “It’s not just the state of the remains that makes this site exceptional, it’s also the variety of structures and buildings. This is truly a little Pompeii.”

Discovered on land where a housing complex is to be built, the excavation site covers an area of 75,000 square feet, an unusually large find in an urban area. The site is in Sainte-colombe on the outskirts of the city of Vienne, less than 20 miles south of Lyon, on both banks of the Rhône.

The excavations, which began in April, had been due to end in September, but the government has agreed to extend them until the end of the year as archaeologists believe more discoveries are likely.

In the coming months, Mr Clément’s team of 20 will dig deeper to examine older parts of the site, and will explore an area used for workshops.