Ambrussum - History

History

The site was first settled in 2,300 BCE and the construction started on the oppidum around 300 BCE. It was a settlement of Gauls. The Romans conquered the area in 120 BCE. The paved road at the heart of the oppidum was laid around 100 BCE. Between the oppidum and the river was a staging post (mutatio) on the Via Domitia. That, and the Pont Ambroix were constructed at around 30 BCE. The flow patterns of the river changed around 10 BCE, it became more aggressive and flooding became more frequent. The large houses on the south of the oppidum were built in AD 50. The whole oppidum abandoned in AD 100, but parts of the lower settlement were still in use in AD 400, and the Pont Ambroix continued in use through the Middle Ages. It took a battering from the Vidourlades, or violent floods or crues on the Vidourle, During a crue, the water flow increases from a minimum of 3m³/sec to over 3000m³/sec. Floods were recorded 8 October 1723. The floods of 18 November 1745 reduced the bridge from four arches to three. Further major floods occurred 6 October 1812, 21 October 1891, 21 September 1907. The floods of 7 September 1933 reduced the bridge from two arches to the one we see today. The site was abandoned when transit patterns changed, the Domitia became less important and the community relocated to Lunel-Viel which better served a north south transit. The site was returned to nature, and later to the cultivation of vines and olives. This protected the archaeological record.