PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

Pointe-à-Callière presents an exclusive exhibition
Encounters in Roman Gaul

May 17 to October 9, 2005

Exceptional archaeological artifacts from Gallo-Roman times, exhibited outside France for the first time

Montréal, May 16, 2005 – Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, is presenting an exclusive exhibition featuring over 200 authentic artifacts from the days of Roman Gaul.

Encounters in Roman Gaul, presented from May 17 to October 9, will showcase archaeological treasures on loan from the museums of Roman Gaul in Lyon-Fourvière and Saint-Romain-en-Gal/Vienne and the Vienne museum, in France.

"Pointe-à-Callière is once again making news on the international archaeological scene, as it hosts collections never seen outside France before. The Gallo-Roman civilization shaped modern-day France and its influences can still be seen there – just think of all the arenas, temples and extensive aqueducts, for instance. The city of Lyon boasts outstanding Gallo-Roman archaeological sites, and this exhibition will introduce visitors to the important role played by the city from the 1st to the 3rd centuries," said Francine Lelièvre, Executive Director of the Museum.

If all roads lead to Rome, it is certainly thanks to the conquests and influence of the famous expeditions led by Julius Caesar. But how many people know about the impact of the Roman Empire on Gaul and its heritage after the great chieftain Vercingetorix cast his weapons at the feet of the Roman conqueror?

Encounters in Roman Gaul will enchant visitors with all the wealth of Gallo-Roman civilization, taking them to Lugdunum and Vienna, two cities now known as Lyon and Saint-Romain-en-Gal/Vienne. All the pieces presented in Montréal are from the time known as the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace), the period of unprecedented prosperity and harmony that prevailed from the 1st to the 3rd centuries A.D., following the Roman colonization of Gaul.

Thanks to its partnership with the "archaeological pole" of the French Département du Rhône, consisting of the museums of Roman Gaul in Lyon-Fourvière and Saint-Romain-en-Gal/Vienne, Pointe-à-Callière has brought together in a single exhibition some exceptional items from the collections of these two French institutions. In fact, Pointe-à-Callière has been twinned with the Saint-Romain-en-Gal/Vienne museum for ten years now.

Archaeological treasures from a rich history

The Gallo-Roman artifacts presented in the exhibition were discovered during archaeological excavations in the cities of Lyon, Saint-Romain-en-Gal and Vienne, in the Rhône region.

These artifacts have given researchers essential information allowing them to decipher the history of this period in Europe. The 200 artifacts, of tremendous archaeological significance, are an important part of the world heritage.

After Gaul was conquered by Rome in 52 B.C., it was divided up into three provinces, called Lugdunensis, Belgica and Aquitania. Lugdunum (Lyon), the capital of Lugdunensis, was the largest city in Roman Gaul – with a population of about 20,000 to 30,000, according to archaeologist Christian Goudineau – larger than Narbonne, Nîmes, Trier and Vienna, and especially much larger than Lutetia (Paris).

Claudius, one of Rome's great Emperors

Probably no emperor loved Gaul more than Claudius. He was born in Lugdunum on August 10 of the year 10 BC and ruled the Empire from 41 to 54 AD, when his wife Agrippina had him assassinated to speed her son Nero's accession to the throne.

Claudius also did much for his people. He defended the Empire's borders from the Barbarians. He conquered Britain. He completed Agrippa's road network. He beautified his native city, the most populous at the time in the Three Gauls, and renamed it the Opulent City. Moreover, he was deified after his death, a mark of recognition denied to his predecessors Tiberius and Caligula.

He was also an erudite writer. In addition to a volume on dice playing, his passion, he penned 41 history books (many of them on the Etruscans), an eight-volume autobiography, two history books in Greek, a rhetorical defence of Cicero and a treatise on three new letters of the alphabet!

Seneca, who called him the "Gallic Emperor," mocked him, saying "he had determined to see every Greek, Gaul and Spaniard in a toga: would he leave any foreigners?" But Claudius probably understood that bringing all these foreigners into the fold was the only way of saving the Empire. One thing is certain: as proven by the Claudius Tablet, he gave an ardent speech supporting the request by Gallic chiefs to be admitted to the Roman Senate.

The Claudius Tablet: A historic appeal

In 48 AD, Claudius gave a speech to the Roman Senate, in an effort to convince the Senators to admit Gallic representatives. The members of the Council of the Three Gauls were so pleased by Claudius' liberal-minded speech that they had the text inscribed in its entirety on a bronze tablet, with gilded letters. They wished to display the tablet and its everlasting words so that history would never forget the greatness of the man who had pronounced them. The Tablet is remarkable for its size and beauty, but above all for its transcription of the speech. It is one of the most highly prized artifacts in French archaeology, and is now being exhibited for the first time in North America.

Artistic splendours

Other key objects include a silver goblet with Gallic gods, and a lovely representation of three mother goddesses, both showing how religion was part of everyday life in Roman Gaul.

The superb Ocean Gods mosaic can also be admired. It was once part of the floor around a fountain in the entrance to a wealthy home in the fashionable "suburb" of Vienna (now Saint-Romain-en-Gal). Visitors can have fun deciphering the Latin inscriptions on stone stelae, all the more significant because they bear the names of some of the historical figures featured in the exhibition.

Lead, for life and death

There will also be a lead child's sarcophagus, with lovely decorations – lead was a widely used material in those days. Visitors will be able to examine some lead pipes, too, evidence of extraordinary Roman ingenuity in collecting and distributing water throughout the great cities of the Empire.

Hidden treasures

Lastly, the Vaise hoard will also be paying a visit to Montréal. The impressive hoard of silver and gold items was unearthed in 1992 in Vaise, a neighbourhood of Lyon, where it had been buried beneath the floor of a 3rd-century home.

A meeting of two great civilizations – and you

The exhibition will introduce both prominent public figures and common citizens, offering glimpses into their existence and daily lives. Visitors will "meet" various artisans, including a pottery merchant and the proprietress of a company making lead items; a freed slave who worshipped the god Mercury; a woman from high society; not to mention magistrates and even the illustrious Emperor Claudius himself. It's an original and spellbinding way to learn about Gallo-Roman society and urban life at the time.

The pieces will give visitors an idea of what day-to-day life was like in Roman Gaul and how social life resembled that in Rome itself.

A technological window on the past

Visitors will be able to enjoy a superb virtual reproduction, produced by the Museum, of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls. This federal sanctuary is where 60 dignitaries from the three Gallic provinces met every year to celebrate the cult of the Emperor. This short projection is an excellent way of illustrating the historic importance of the site where the famous Claudius Tablet was found.

Encounters in Roman Gaul was co-produced by Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, and the museums of Roman Gaul in Lyon-Fourvière and Saint-Romain-en-Gal/Vienne, Département du Rhône. The exhibition received financial support from the Department of Canadian Heritage, under the France-Canada agreement and the Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program. Air Canada, Tourisme Montréal, Historia, the Hôtel Place d'Armes, Le Devoir and the Métro newspaper are exhibition partners.

The Museum is subsidized by the City of Montréal.

Information:
Marie-France Lapointe
Communications-Marketing Representative
(514) 872-7858
mflapointe@pacmusee.qc.ca

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
350 Place Royale
Old Montréal, Quebec
H2Y 3Y5
Tel. (514) 872-9150

Photographic material available from mflapointe@pacmusee.qc.ca