Stuck in a Rut: Analysis of a Gallo-Roman Road in Burgundy, France Senior Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Undergraduate Program in the Department of Classical Studies Cheryl L. Walker, Advisor In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts by David Louis Picker-Kille April 2016 Copyright by David Picker-Kille TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 1 I. Introduction 3 II. Description of the Road Segment 5 III. Dating of the Road Segment 8 1) Geographical Evidence 8 2) Artifactual Evidence 9 3) Ruts 11 4) Context of the Road in the Gallo-Roman World 12 i. The Via Agrippa 12 ii. Connecting the Road Segment to the Via Agrippa 13 IV. Analysis and Discussion of the Anomalous Characteristics of the Road 17 1) Roman Road Construction Techniques 17 2) Unevenness of Ruts 19 3) The Presence of Pitched Stones 24 4) Change in Construction Methods along the Road 27 5) Relevance of the Walls and the Possible Quarry 31 i. Initial Observations 31 ii. Initial Predictions 33 iii. Results of pXRF Analysis 34 V. Conclusion 39 VI. Bibliography 41 Picker-Kille 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For anyone who has spoken to me for more than thirty seconds over the past seven months, you know that I have been excessively worried with the page length of this thesis. Despite the constant assurances by my professors, friends, and parents, it had always bothered me that my page count would pale in comparison the triple-digit works of some of my peers. This concern, however, was not based on the unfounded fear that fewer pages corresponded to a lower grade. Rather, I was concerned that a lower page count meant that I was less devoted to the project. A senior thesis was supposed to allow me to write about a topic of my own choosing, a topic that has meaning and interest to me; if I couldn’t even reach 50 pages, did that mean I’m not interested in this topic, that I didn’t care, that I had somehow failed to write a senior thesis properly? Until recently, such had been my reasoning. Now, as I apply the finishing touches, I realize that this project I have undertaken stretches far beyond the confines of the numbers shown in the top right corners of each page. In many respects, my decision to write this thesis extends as far back as the end of my time in high school, before many of my peers even knew where they would attend college. Over the years since then, I cultivated an interest in not only the subject of this paper, but more importantly in Roman history and archaeology as well, a passion that stayed with me and grew throughout my undergraduate career. In other words, this project was just as much of a journey as it was of an academic assignment, and like all journeys, there are many people whose contributions, encouragement, and assistance were invaluable to its success. I would first of all like to thank Jan McCallum-Johnston and Chris Johnston for introducing me to the road in the first place, and helping find, collect, and record much of the information that led my decision to pursue this project. I would also like to thank Madame Ginett-Monnot, as well as many of the other residents of Nolay, for providing maps, directions, Picker-Kille 2 and information on the local area. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Professor Eric Poehler of the University of Massachusetts Amherst for taking the time to discuss the road with me, and for his input and opinions that have become invaluable to this thesis. I am also grateful to Melanie Harris, whose willingness to assist me with my last-minute request at the pXRF was truly a lifesaver for this paper. In addition, I am indebted to my advisor, Professor Cheryl Walker, for all of her help throughout this project and for tolerating and snapping me out of my weekly panic attacks about the progress of my work, as well as Professor Ann Olga Koloski- Ostrow, whose advice and suggestions were crucial in shaping and structuring my research. I am also extremely thankful to Mrs. Meredith Monaghan and the rest of the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fund Committee for their generous grant that allowed me to return to Burgundy in the summer of 2015 for research. Last but not least, no amount of words can express my gratitude for my parents, whose trip to France in 2010 and in the subsequent summers allowed me to develop and research this interest, and whose patience and toleration with my antics, even when I was often undeserving of it, kept my motivation strong, and my friends, whose kindness and encouragement kept me going over the course of the past two semesters. For all of you that have been a part of my life during my studies at Brandeis University, thank you so much. Picker-Kille 3 I. INTRODUCTION During the summer of 2010, after completing a rather unsuccessful French immersion program in Aix-en-Provence, I met up with my parents in Paris to travel to the Burgundy region of France as an enjoyable vacation to end the summer, before beginning my junior year of high school. We rented a cottage in the village of Nolay, located in between the larger towns of Beaune and Autun. Over the course of our stay, we became quite fond of the region and the village, and quite friendly with many of the villagers. Ever since, my family has returned to Nolay for two to three weeks each summer to enjoy a relaxing vacation, during which we also began to learn a lot about the history of the town and the area. During our stay, in either 2011 or 2012, while discussing my interest in Roman history and archaeology with a couple with whom we had become friends, they mentioned that there were the remains of a Roman road lying about a half-hour walk north-east of the town, on the modern hiking path that runs along the edge of a plateau at the top of a steep valley. I eagerly accepted their offer for one of them to take me up to the site, and I was not disappointed in what I saw: just after coming out of a clearing in a forest, marking the end of a steep uphill hike, I could see clearly, cut into the bedrock of the ridge, what appeared to be a pair of very deep cart ruts. Despite the simplicity of the feature, I immediately became fascinated with it and how it managed to survive for over 2,000 years. As a result, during my stays in Burgundy over the next few summers, I spent much of my time researching this road, attempting to answer questions regarding its history, the path it followed, and its significance within the Gallo-Roman world. Ultimately, this interest, over time, evolved into one of an academic nature, such that it has become the subject of this thesis. This paper focuses on the aforementioned portion of the ancient road and explores many of the questions that were raised over the course of my research. Such topics include 1) an Picker-Kille 4 analysis and confirmation of the road’s presence in the Gallo-Roman period, as well as its context within the larger network of Gallo-Roman roads, and 2) a discussion of the many anomalies I discovered with respect to the road’s present-day physical characteristics. Specifically, these anomalous characteristics manifest themselves in issues such as 1) various features along this segment of the road potential archaeological value, and 2) what appear to be sudden changes in construction techniques, as well as a perpetual consideration of 3) the effects of natural erosion on the road, which is often especially problematic due to its potential to distort further our interpretation of the former two anomalies. In considering these anomalies, I hope to present some possible explanations for the road’s significance and formation. Furthermore, by carefully analyzing these anomalous characteristics, I ultimately hope to present some new insight into road construction techniques of the Roman period. Picker-Kille 5 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ROAD SEGMENT The segment of this road lies to the north of Nolay, reaching, as it heads north, the top of a valley, above the village of Cormot-le-Petit which lies to the east, where it runs along the edge, on a modern walking path, just over a half-kilometer south from an old barn known as the “Granges d’Etagny”. I will describe the road’s characteristics as they appear, heading north to south, in order to explain more effectively these features with respect to one another. Walking south from the barn, as you approach this area on the walking path, which starts to slope downward, slight indentations in the limestone bedrock appear to form on the left- and right- hand sides of the path. Continuing down, these indentations become much more pronounced, especially on the left (east) side, to the point where they become deep enough to have been identified by previous archaeologists as ruts1. The ruts are visible for most of a 150 to 200-meter stretch, after which they begin to fade away into the rock, eventually completely disappearing again. Around this point, the walking path enters into a much more forested area, and the downhill slope becomes much steeper as well. A few meters further, the path’s surface becomes more frequently covered in a layer of soil, rather than the exposed bedrock of the ridge, and shortly thereafter, you can see a patch of what appear to be smooth, cut stones, that look as if they had been intentionally placed vertically alongside one another within the soil. A similar patch of stones can also be found placed into the soil a bit further down the hill. In the vicinity of this first patch of stones, the path, on its left side, for a short period of time parallels the cliff wall that continues upward2. In this area, you can find a cavity in the cliff wall that resembles a small quarry. A few meters down the path, a dilapidated wall of loose stones appears on the left-hand 1 Thevenot, Émile. Les voies romaines de la Cité des Éduens. Vol. XCVII of Collection Latomus. Bruxelles: Latomus, 1969. p. 267 2 At this point, the path is no longer on the top of the valley; as the path begins its descent, on its left the valley continues downward, while on its right the valley slopes upward – I hope this clears up any confusion. Picker-Kille 6 Figure 1: Photo of ruts on walking path. Figure 2: Another photo of ruts on walking path (I am standing in the background for scaling). Picker-Kille 7 side; on the other side, as the path begins to veer away from the cliff wall that rises above it, a similar man-made wall appears as well. These walls continue to follow the path until it reaches the bottom of the slope and emerges from the forest, after which there do not appear to be any more features of potential archaeological significance or relevance. Picker-Kille 8 III. DATING OF THE ROAD SEGMENT Although no primary sources specifically mention the existence of this road, some geographical, archaeological, and secondary evidence can help to confirm its Roman origin. 1) Geographical Evidence Before discussing the tangible discoveries, an analysis of the local terrain on which the path lies may be helpful in determining an age. To be specific, the angle at which the road D D C C B B A A Figure 3: In the map on the left, the walking path, marked by a dark brown line, ascends the valley, depicted against contour lines. In the map on the right, aerial photography of the same area shows the forest covering.