Lutecia

Parisian Lutetia (in Latin: Lutetia, Lutetia Parisiorum or Lukotekia before, in French: Lutèce) was a city in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul.

The Gallo-Roman city was a precedent for the reestablished Merovingian city that is the ancestor of modern-day Paris. Lutetia and Paris have little in common except their position on an island, the Île de la Cité, in a convenient passage of the Sequana (Seine). The primitive Λουκοτοκίαυ (Strabo), Λευκοτεκία (Ptolemy) > Lutetia (Caesar) perhaps contains the Celtic root *luco-t- 'mouse' + -ek(t)ia = 'the mice', Breton logod, Welsh llygod, Irish luch (Bibracte, *bibro 'beaver' + -acti = 'the beavers'). or the root Celtic mourning- 'swamp' or 'mud' (Gaelic loth 'bog', Breton loudour 'impure').

Galic origins

Somewhere in the nearby region was located the main settlement or oppidum of the Parisians, a Gallic people who settled in the area during the 3rd century BC. C. However, the dendrochronological study of wooden piles below the lower stratum of the Roman north-south axis dates the construction of the road after the year 4, more than fifty years after the Roman pacification of the region.

The Roman Lutetia was founded above the flood point where the Bièvre River reaches the Seine River, centered on the slopes of the hill later dedicated to Saint Genevieve, on the left bank of the Seine, modern Latin Quarter. There are suburbs on an island on the other side of the confluence, the Île de la Cité, which was the Merovingian and modern center of Paris.

Urbanization

The regular plan of Roman Lutetia marked it as the city, in the Gallo-Roman sense. The city was the only sector in which, starting from the II century, public monuments were built. The north-south axis was dictated by the need to cross the swampy shores in the shortest possible distance; several routes converged at the bridgehead. The Roman public works were all on the northern slope of St. Genevieve Hill. The discovery of ancient paved roads, the established boundaries of major monuments—the hilltop forum, theater, baths—even the path of certain medieval roads show that the Roman city was established with a module of exactly 300 feet. Romans. On the left bank, Rue St-Jacques and on the right bank, Rue St-Martin still follow the main Roman axis (cardo maximus).

A 26 km long aqueduct, with an estimated flow of 2000 cubic meters per day, provided water to the city with a spring collected from various points. To cross the Bièvre valley in Arcueil-Cachan, a bridge was erected, whose pilasters and ruined arches, still visible, gave rise to the toponym Arcueil.

The amphitheater, built into the hillside just outside the city itself, is often referred to as the Arenas of Lutetia. It was one of the largest structures in Gaul.

Events

The city was taken by the Roman Republic in 52 BC. C. during the conquest of Gaul under the mandate of Julius Caesar. The inhabitants of Lutetia supported Vercingetorix's revolt against the Romans under Caesar, contributing 8,000 men to Vercingetorix's army. It was garrisoned by Vercingetorix's lieutenant Camulogen, whose army camped at Mons Lutetius (where the Panthéon is today). The Romans crushed the rebels at nearby Melun and took control of Lutetia.

Under Roman rule, Lutetia was intensely Romanized with an estimated population of around 8,000 people. He did not have great political importance - the capital of his province, Lugdunensis Senona, was Agedinco (modern Sens, Yonne). It was Christianized in the 3rd century, when according to tradition Saint Dionysius became the city's first bishop. The process was not entirely peaceful - around the year 250 Saint Dionysius and two companions were arrested and beheaded on the hill of Mons Mercurius, where the Roman foundations were found, later known as Mons Martyrum(Martyrs' Hill or Montmartre).

Lutetia was renamed Paris in the year 360, taking its name from the Gaulish town of the Parisians. The name had already been used for centuries as an adjective ("Parisiacus"). The legend of the Breton town of Ys suggests a different but less probable origin.

Around the same time, the quarter of the city on the left bank of the Sécuana, which housed the baths, theaters and amphitheatre, was gradually abandoned with the population concentrating on the island, which received new fortifications. Classical theater began to be dismantled during the IV century.

For the history of the city after receiving its new name, see History of Paris.

Current remains

Very little remains of the ancient city today, although more are currently being discovered. In a small park in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank, hidden behind apartment blocks, some remains of the I century can still be seen. > amphitheater (Arenas de Lutecia). You can also see the remains of thermal baths in the Cluny Museum (frigidarium with intact vault and caldarium) and the early Christian crypt under the forecourt of Notre Dame, today the Place of John Paul II.

May 2006 findings

In May 2006, a two-thousand-year-old road was discovered at the site of Lutetia during the construction of the Pierre and Marie Curie University. Excavation is currently being carried out by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research. During the excavation, remains of private houses containing Roman baths and heated floors were found. Everyday objects such as vases, bronze chains and ceramics were found. Many of these objects were expected to be displayed in museums soon after. Archaeologists recognize this as the first site discovered from the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD).

The builders

As for details about the builders, archaeologists disagree about the character of the neighborhood builders. Some believe that the former Gallic aristocracy recruited by Rome to govern the colony settled in the area. The new Roman governors and nobles built the city in a Roman style, but certainly used materials that were found locally. Most of this is assumed because they had to be rich enough to own some Roman baths found in one of the houses. A privately owned Roman bath was considered a status symbol among Roman citizens.

It is presumed that this particular room was built in the first decade of the I century, at the end of the reign of Emperor Augustus., far from the administrative and commercial center of the Roman city. This neighborhood remained on the main Roman street (called 'cardo maximus') which was originally paved by the Romans to cross the nearby Seine River and is today Rue St. Jacques in the 5th arrondissement.

Conservation of findings

Due to Parisian conservation policy, when planning construction work in Paris, archaeologists review all construction licenses and builders have to seek official opinion to determine whether the site is of historical value. If it is proven that the site has it, excavation is permitted. One of the problems related to the potential conservation of this site is the inherent destruction incurred by the excavation process, due to the need to expand the university's facilities to assist in research into ancient and historic Paris.

Popular culture

Lutecia appears in the adventures of Asterix. She is shown full of Gauls with some Roman legionaries patrolling the streets. The city first appears in The Golden Sickle, which takes place almost entirely in and around the city. It also appears in Caesar's Laurels where it is mentioned as the largest city in the universe along with Rome. Asterix and Obelix also make a brief stop there in Asterix's Return to Gaul. Justfórkix and Bravura are also mentioned as natives of Lutecia.

Related facts

There is also an asteroid called 21 Lutetia; and the element lutetium was named after the city, in honor of its discovery in a Parisian laboratory.