A discovery described as “exceptional” by French archaeologists was made this summer in Saint-Romain-en-Gal, a town of about 2,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Vienne, near Lyon, where an important Roman-era settlement was located, and where it is now possible to visit the related archaeological site. During the excavation campaign conducted in recent weeks, archaeologists discovered, in the western sector of the site, a mausoleum whose singular dimensions suggest that it was dedicated to a very important figure of the Roman world, whose identification has yet to be determined. Only 18 mound mausoleums are known in all of France, but this one, archaeologists at the Musée Gallo-Romain in Saint-Romain-en-Gal point out, is the only circular elevation building in this state of preservation.
Built around A.D. 50, with an internal diameter of 15 meters, it must have been more than 6 meters high so as to be visible to all those passing through or arriving in the Roman colony of Vienne, particularly from the Rhone River. These dimensions, the archaeologists explain, demonstrate the importance of the person buried here, a personage who, “even when dead, must have still been present in the world of the living. Certainly a personage belonging to the aristocratic elite, with an important political role and linked to imperial power,” explains Giulia Ciucci, archaeologist and scientific director of the museum’s archaeological sites. The Saint-Romain-en-Gal mausoleum was in fact built on the model of that of Augustus in Rome (27 B.C.-14 A.D.), the first Roman emperor.
“We have all dreamed of participating in excavations and being present when a discovery is made,” says Martine Publié, vice-president of the Rhône department in charge of Culture, Tourism, Attractiveness and Community Life. “These excavations will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on the archaeology students involved in this 2025 campaign, as well as on the visitors who were able to witness live the discovery of the traces of their past throughout the summer.”
“This discovery underlines the whole vocation of the museum at the Saint-Romain-en-Gal site,” says Émilie Alonso, director of the departmental museum. And now “the adventure is just beginning,” Giulia Ciucci concludes, because now studies will begin to understand who the person buried here was, but not only that: excavations conducted in collaboration with the universities of Aix-Marseille, Marie-et-Louis-Pasteur in Besançon, and the CNRS will continue during the summers of 2026 and 2027.
However, this is not the only discovery. Archaeological excavations conducted this summer near the Northern Baths of Saint-Romain-en-Gal uncovered three stores dating from the 1st to 2nd centuries AD, part of a commercial building already identified between 1989 and 1990, comprising at least eight stores and open on a portico that sheltered customers from the weather. Excavations conducted by Benjamin Clément, professor of Antiquities and Roman Archaeology at the University Marie-et-Louis-Pasteur in Besançon, and Marine Lepée of the École Française in Rome, together with their students, have shown that the business complex was destroyed by fire. Two workshops with tubs were clearly occupied by tools used to compact woolen fabrics (so as to make them stronger and sometimes even waterproof) by treading on them, particularly the white toga worn by citizens during their civic activities. A third workshop equipped with a kiln for glass making or baking was also brought to light.
The quality of the finds, combined with the diversity of craft activities observed, will clarify the economic activity of this district of ancient Vienne. “We are well aware of long-distance trade during that period,” says Benjamin Clément. “We will now be able to understand local trade. Rarely do we have the opportunity to have such well-preserved objects to go so far in our understanding.”
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| France, Roman mausoleum discovered near Lyon: 'exceptional' according to archaeologists |
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