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Arausio (Orange)
Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
Arausio, named after a native goddess, was probably the site of Hannibal's crossing of the Rhône (218 BCE) and certainly the place where the Cimbrians defeated the Romans in 105 BCE. The Roman town was founded as a settlement for veterans of the Second legion Augusta in 36 BCE. This picture shows the outside of the theater.
The town suffered heavily from the Gallic revolt under Julius Sacrovir and Julius Florus in 21 CE, but as it was situated along the road from the Mediterranean to Lyon, there was sufficient trade to obtain money for recovery. The theater was rebuilt. The impressive stage wall has a width of 103 meters and is 38 meters high. The statue in the wall represents the emperor Augustus, under whose auspices Orange was built.
The stage wall. A satellite photo of the theater can be found here.
A temple near the theater.
The triumphal arch, seen from the north, was erected after the insurrection of Julius Sacrovir and Julius Florus had been suppressed and dates to the years 21-26. Reliefs show defeated Gauls and victorious legionaries, which may have belonged to the Twentieth legion Valeria victrix, the Fourteenth 'twin' legion, and the Twenty-first legion Rapax.
Model of the Arch of Orange, Museo nazionale della civiltà romana, Roma (Italy). Photo Jona Lendering. A model of the arch in the Museo nazionale della civiltà romana in Rome.
The same arch, from the east...
... and from the south. This is one of the oldest surviving examples of the "triple" triumphal arch that was to become the standard type (e.g., the arch of Septimius Severus and the arch of Constantine I the Great in Rome).
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