Villa romaine de Vicques
Origin of the name Villa romaine de Vicques
The site, at the locality of « Le Chaufour », bears the name of the village of Vicques, recorded in 866 as « Vicum » (old German name « Wix »). The etymology has not been explained.[1][2]
Founding of Villa romaine de Vicques
The villa occupies the eastern tip of the fertile plain between Delémont, Courrendlin and Vicques, where hills narrow the valley and bring water. The main building of this large Gallo-Roman farming establishment (villa rustica) was erected around the middle of the 1st century AD. A Roman road bounded the estate to the north. It was probably abandoned in the second half of the 4th century. Its ruins were still known in the Middle Ages, when two lime kilns were set up in them, reusing the stones. The site lies in the former municipality of Vicques, now in the municipality of Val Terbi (merger of 1 January 2013).[1][2]
History of Villa romaine de Vicques
Mid-1st century AD. First building phase of the main house.[1]
Late 1st or early 2nd century. Probable construction of the enclosure wall of the farm area (pars rustica).[1]
2nd-3rd centuries. Imported samian ware testifies to the estate's activity.[1]
Second half of the 4th century. Probable abandonment of the villa, according to the study of 44 coins.[1]
Middle Ages. Two lime kilns are set up in the ruins, whose stones are reused.[1]
1844. The site is discovered.[1]
1844-1846. Excavations by Auguste Quiquerez, who draws up a precise plan.[1]
1862. Quiquerez publishes the results of his excavations.[1]
1935-1938. Excavations by Alban Gerster and André Rais with a team of unemployed workers and volunteers. The foundations are then covered with low stone walls.[1]
1983. Gerster and Rais publish « Reconstitution d'un travail archéologique. La villa gallo-romaine de Vicques ».[1]
1992. D. Spitale publishes the study of the villa's coins.[1]
2009. Rescue excavation from 25 to 28 May: a section of about 10 m of the pars rustica enclosure wall is uncovered.[1]
2015. Archaeological monitoring of a 140 m trench: a ditch, some twenty features, an enclosure wall and an inhumation grave of uncertain date.[1]
Historic sites in Villa romaine de Vicques
Visible foundations. The foundations of the main building, covered with low stone walls at the end of the 1935-1938 excavations, are still visible. The site lies within a protected archaeological perimeter.[1]
Remains in Villa romaine de Vicques
Main building and courtyard. Rectangular dwelling of 32 m by 10 m with 7 rooms, two staircase bases leading to the upper floor, colonnaded porticoes to the north and south and two 16 m wings. It stood in a walled courtyard of 105 m by 65 m with two gates, which later became a peristyle courtyard.[1]
Baths. North-west of the courtyard, baths with cold, warm and hot rooms with hypocaust, later a heated pool of 7.40 m by 5.25 m with three apses and annex rooms.[1]
Farm estate. Three large outer courtyards with farm buildings, staff quarters and workshops. Iron slag, a tile kiln, a potter's kiln and a lime kiln were found there. The estate's entrance gate lay to the north, 195 m from the main building, beside a Roman road. The finds are kept at the Musée jurassien d'art et d'histoire in Delémont.[1]
Burials. An early medieval cemetery is reported near the villa. The cantonal archaeologists, however, record no cemetery as such, but a single inhumation grave without grave goods, found in 2015 south of the present cemetery. Its date is uncertain.[1][2]
Sources
- Office de la culture du Jura, Section d'archéologie et paléontologie, « Vicques, Le Chaufour (villa romaine) »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Vicques »
- Office fédéral de topographie swisstopo, map.geo.admin.ch
Other villages near Villa romaine de Vicques
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