Barzan, Charente-Maritime
Barzan is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barzanais or Barzanaises.
The commune is the site of a major Gallo-Roman site of Barzan structured excavations carried out since 1994. Aerial photographs and the first archaeological excavations have revealed the presence of a Gallo-Roman port city of great importance. Other remains are the subject of annual excavations.
It seems almost certain that this Gallo-Roman town is the Novioregum indicated in the Antonine Itinerary. It could also be the Portus Santonum described by Ptolemy.
Geography
Barzan is located some 30 km south-west of Saintes and 15 km south-east of Royan in the former province of Saintonge. Access to the commune is by the D145 road from Meschers-sur-Gironde along the coast to the north-west which passes through the commune and continues south-east to Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde. The D114 branches from the D145 near the village and goes north to Arces. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Barzan Plage, Chez Grenon, Les Monards - a small port, Chez Garnier, Les Grandes Mottes Gachin, and Les Maisons Neuves.In the south-west the commune borders the Atlantic Ocean where there is a small beach resort built in the 1960s. The Riviere de Chauvignac flows south outside the eastern border to join the Ruisseau de Désir which forms the eastern border of the commune as it flows south to join the Riviere de Chauvignac to form the Monards Channel at Les Monards which connects to the sea.
Geology and Relief
The commune is located in the heart of a region of limestone hills overlooking the Gironde estuary. The Littoral zone extends from the Bay of Chant-Dorat, west of the commune, to the Monards Channel in the south, consists essentially of an alternation of muddy intertidal zones and Limestone cliffs which are relatively eroded and are termed dead zones in the southern part of the commune. This term is explained by the gradual retreat of the shoreline and the partial silting of the estuary at this point leaving the cliffs, once battered by the waves, several hundred metres from the waters of the estuary, in the middle of the swampy areas. This type of landscape, found mostly near Mortagne-sur-Gironde, marks the beginning of what is sometimes called the Charente Camargue. In the north-west the Caillaud cliffs mark the border with the commune of Talmont-sur-Gironde.Vegetation
The commune is sparsely wooded but has a forest covering the valley of Font Vielle.The landscape is strongly marked by the cultivation of cereals, - especially wheat and maize - as well as vineyards: the vines that cover the hillsides are used particularly in the production of cognac and for the production of Charentais Wine.
Toponymy
The name Barzan comes from the Latin Barisiacum from the Gallo-Roman anthroponym Barisii with the Gallo-Roman suffix -acum indicating ownership transformed into the Latin suffix -anum. In the Middle Ages the village was called Barlan then Balzan. When the village became a commune the name Barzan was used.Barzan appears as Barzan on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.
History
A prehistoric settlement
The commune was inhabited very early, at least from Neolithic times, which is evidenced by the discovery of numerous traces in various parts of the commune especially near the hill of La Garde which overlooks the Gironde estuary. In 1877 Eutrope Jouan, a local historian, reported the uncovering of fragments of polished axes and arrowheads. This discovery would be confirmed almost a century later, in 1970, by remnants of ceramics attributed to the Matignons and the Peu-Richardiens. Layers of ash and stone fireplaces were found nearby and the presence of a cemetery a few metres from the site showed proof of the presence of a habitat there in about 3500 years BC.In 1975 an aerial survey by Jacques Dassié confirmed the discoveries and also showed the presence of fortifications around the camp: these being mainly composed of ditches and chicane type entrances, an ingenious device dangerously exposing any potential attackers. Two other more recent prehistoric sites have been discovered in the commune dating from the Bronze Age: one near the Fa mill and one on the north-east side of the La Garde hill near the Piloquets locality. The latter was discovered in 1980 during vine planting when it was revealed including several bronze axes dated about 1800 BC which are currently on display at the Museum of Royan.
A Celtic town
Around the 7th century BC Saintonge was inhabited by people of Celtic origin: the Santones. They first established their capital at Pons, then Saintes. The Santones settled at Fâ and built their main sanctuary on a hill overlooking the Gironde estuary. They founded the town which was the embryo of the Roman city which emerged at this place a few centuries later. Recent aerial surveys have also revealed traces of two other Celtic temples located on the La Garde hill.An excavation undertaken under the direction of Karine Robin from 1996 to 2002 also helped to uncover Gallic and Hispanic ceramics dating from the 5th century BC which indicates the presence of a port at this time. The fact that Saintonge was located on one of the routes for the tin trade, a particularly active trade between the British Isles and the Mediterranean Sea at that time, suggests the possibility of the transit of this essential raw material for the manufacture of bronze through the port of this ancient city and explains the relative prosperity of the city even before the establishment of the Roman domination.
The golden age of the city
The province of the Santons was invaded by the Romans in 58 BC. This was the beginning of a golden age for its capital, Mediolanum Santonum which became the first capital of the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania. The city of Novioregum was then primarily an Emporium or a trading post, which is easily explained by its geographical location not far from the mouth of the Gironde. The first important buildings were probably built under the Flavians, as evidenced by remnants of statues and several Corinthian Capitals dating from this period.Nevertheless, the city seems to have reached its peak in the 2nd century during the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The city was adorned with important monuments: theatre, avenues, and port warehouses. The thermal baths were enlarged. The prosperous city was indicated in the Antonine Itinerary published in the 3rd century AD, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. This veritable "Travelers Guide" before its time located Novioregum on the main road leading from Saintes to Bordeaux via Blaye, 15 leuga from Saintes and 12 leuga from Tamnum, a city probably located near Consac. The city was abandoned around the 4th or 5th century without anyone really knowing why. The port silting theory has been considered but no real evidence is established at present. This common phenomenon in the region caused the loss of another major port in the region - Brouage - in the 17th century.
A farming village
At the beginning of the Middle Ages the ancient Roman city had become a stone quarry. Decorative elements were reused in homes and churches in the region, and Roman columns were long used as curbstones surrounding village wells. The village became a modest parish dependent on the castellanies of Theon, Conteneuil or Uzet. A Romanesque church was built in the 12th century but was poorly maintained and was demolished in the 19th century. The economy of the village, growing cereal crops, explains the presence of several mills. In the 18th century vineyards became predominant but the ravages of phylloxera a century later put a stop to this activity although it is still important today.Intriguing Ruins
The ruins scattered around Barzan have intrigued scholars for a long time: in 1715, Claude Masse, an engineer and geographer for the King, responsible for the provinces of Aunis and Saintonge had already noticed their presence when travelling. From 1921 many archaeological excavations were made on the Fâ site. Between 1921 and 1926 Leon Massiou, a local scholar and author of several books on history, conducted excavations at Fâ on the site of the mill resulting in the classification of the temple as an historical monument in 1937. From 1935 to 1957, Louis Basalo also conducted searches and explored an aqueduct in the north of the commune and excavated the baths. It was in 1975 that, due to a major drought, that Jacques Dassié took aerial photographs unveiling a more important site than was previously suspected. Under the crops and vegetation there was nothing less than 140 hectares of a city with temples, baths, theatres, warehouses, forum, houses, and avenues.In 1994 the Ministry of Culture entrusted Peter Aupert, research director at CNRS, with the excavation of the sanctuary of the Fâ. They proved in particular the construction of two successive temples, the existence of a vast pit - perhaps sacrificial, and marks of the construction of a podium. In 1999 positive surveys were conducted by Laurence Tranoy at a place called le Trésor on the site of what is assumed to have been the forum at the crossroads of the Cardo and Decumanus Maximus.
From 1998 to 2004 the excavations of Thermae north of Fâ were led by Alain Bouet, HDR Docent at the University of Bordeaux and specialist in the Gallo-Roman era. He soon revealed the existence of one of the largest ruins known in Gaul to date. Since 2005 the site of the baths has been open to the public.
From 2003 to 2005 Alain Bouet also participated in excavations of the warehouses just south of the Fâ sanctuary revealing large stores of great importance to the ancient port. A series of excavations conducted between 2006 and 2008 at Fa also revealed the peribolos walls showing both successive Compounds, the second huge compound measured approximately 106 m X 92 m.
Restarted in 2007 by Antoine Nadeau, the excavations of the theatre at La Garde, resumed again in 2009. Highly degraded, the ruins were used as a stone quarry for centuries.
As for the Grand Avenue revealed by aerial photographs of Jacques Dassié it is being studied in the context of current excavations, conducted under the direction of Laurence Tranoy and Emmanuel Moizan, which aim to understand the flow of the ancient city. The two archaeologists explained their research in a report devoted to one of these excavations in 2008.