In Narbonne, the lost ports resurface

Narbonne (Aude). For its third temporary exhibition, the Narbo Via museum is moving away from the land to dive into the waters. You don’t have to go very far, or very deep, to bring out Narbonne’s maritime past from the waters: the ponds that still separate the city from the Mediterranean Sea have been the site of investigation for archaeologists over the last fifteen years. Corinne Sanchez, an archaeologist at the CNRS, who directs the research program on the ancient port of Narbonne, is the curator of this exhibition, which goes beyond a simple excavation report. Focusing on the discoveries made in the ponds of the Aude, the tour is completed by excavations carried out along the Occitan coast, in order to place ancient Narbo Martius in the context of dense and intense trade routes.

The tour is divided between a local approach, which focuses on the particularities of the ecosystem of the ponds and the first forms of trade before Roman colonization, and a global vision, embodied by a monumental map of the Mediterranean basin highlighting the exchanges that linked the Roman provinces, from Cornwall to Lebanon. In this network, Narbo Martius occupies a strategic place, a connection point between the Mediterranean coast and Aquitaine, then the Atlantic coast. A “hub” that is a port of import and export, but also of transit.

Participatory mediation

In this globalization before its time, and on the scale of the Mediterranean, the cargoes of ships are composed and recomposed according to the ports, as shown by the study of a dozen wrecks found from Port-Vendres (Pyrénées-Orientales) to Fréjus (Var). Presented in detail, these underwater excavations have revealed the nature and intensity of commercial exchanges on the shores of the Mediterranean. In the same room, a large display case displays part of the contents of these precious cargoes, which include some spectacular elements. We thus find large blocks of raw glass, which could only be produced in Egypt and were intended to be remelted and remodeled, but also a large round glass window, miraculously intact, which could have topped the dome of Gallo-Roman baths.

View of the exhibition “Stopover in the Roman Mediterranean: The ancient ports of Narbonne” in Narbo Via.

© Narbo Via / J. Meunier

The material approach to the past is encouraged by olfactory devices, amphorae that are opened to discover the more or less pleasant scent of their cargo, and graspable objects. Isn’t the best way to realize the weight of a Gallic amphora to lift it? This participatory mediation is also present in the pointed part of the tour, devoted to shipbuilding, and whose texts alone – written in maritime jargon – do not allow a clear understanding. The visitor is almost invited to an experimental archaeology approach here, to activate the system connecting the planks of a boat hull for example.

Even more spectacular, you can raise a large square sail, and why not make it triangular using a weight system, to take advantage of the winds. This mediation, which relies on manual modes of understanding, allows for a very scientific discourse, as in the presentation of the excavations of the Mandirac wreck, a ship found in the middle of an ancient dike in the heart of the ponds. The scenography also physically engages the visitor, by confronting scales of magnitude, such as the elevated remains of the jetty of the port of Fréjus presented next to games and small pocket objects that the sailors carried.

At the end of the tour, the best complement to this “immersion” in the life of a Gallo-Roman sailor will be a stroll in the Narbonne ponds, where discoveries continue to shed light on the functioning of the ancient port. Near Gruissan, on the island of Saint-Martin, a supply and rest complex for passing sailors is taking shape over the course of the excavation campaigns. In Port-la-Nautique, a vast pleasure pond gives a glimpse of the wealth of the maritime villa that was located on the site of the current small marina. The Narbo Via museum thus offers visits outside the walls, and even on board to discover in situ the key places of this intense maritime traffic, today replaced by much more peaceful bike rides.

Similar Posts