During Vincent van Gogh’s stay at Saint Paul de Mausole, he was sometimes able to leave the grounds of the asylum. During these field trips, he painted fields of wheat, cypresses, and groves of olive trees. He told his brother Theo, “the rustle of the olive grove has something very secret in it, and immensely old.” He may not have realized just how correct he was, for underneath some of these ancient olive groves was buried something far older. Today, a century of excavation has revealed the ruins of an ancient Roman town, named Glanum.
The site of Glanum was originally settled by Ligurian Celts, who built their oppidum, or fortified town, around a healing spring thought to have healing powers. They attributed these powers to Glanis, a healing god. Pilgrims came from all over the region to bathe in the waters and honor Glanis and a trio of goddesses called the Glanicae.
When the Romans conquered Gaul, they Latinized the name of the town to Glanum, and revised the mythology of the spring. The healing powers of Glanis were ascribed to Valetudo, the goddess of health. The Roman general Agrippa built a small temple to Valetudo next to the spring. The original inscription of his name can still be found carved next to the entrance. The Romans also built a triumphal arch and a mausoleum for the Julii family. The French would later nickname these monuments “Les Antiques.”
Glanum was attacked and destroyed in 260 by Germanic tribes. The remaining inhabitants began a new settlement in what is today Saint Remy, using the old ruins as a makeshift quarry. The ruins became flooded with sediment, disappearing completely over the century, with the exception of Les Antiques. Systematic excavation of the site began in 1921, and today it is one of the largest collections of Roman ruins in France. Even now, only 10 percent of the town has actually been excavated. Most of it still remains buried beneath the earth, waiting to be rediscovered.
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