1,700-year-old Roman pool — with a tunnel below — found at park in France. See it
The Parc des Sources de l’Hôpital is a relatively small, urban park in Vichy, France. Its namesake central feature — a spring surrounded by a pavilion — dominates the space.
But hidden below the well-kept grass sat several ancient ruins.
Archaeologists excavated the park last summer ahead of a renovation project, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said in an Aug. 1 news release. At first, the workers dug along a pathway but found nothing.
When they started digging closer to the pavilion, their fortunes changed. Layer after layer of ruins reemerged.
The oldest structures dated back 1,700 years to the ancient Roman empire, the institute said. These ruins included part of a pool with a tunnel running below, a gutter and pottery fragments.
A photo shows the ancient stone pool. The outer wall is made of a thick layer of mortar, archaeologists said.
Underneath, the arched tunnel measured about 2 feet long and about 3 feet tall. The structure is partially collapsed but may have been used to empty the pool.
Another photo shows the open-air gutter. Based on the pipe arrangement, archaeologists suspect it flowed away from the nearby spring and helped redirect rainwater.
Excavations also unearthed the ruins of a medieval building, likely a house, with several holes, the institute said. The rectangular structure dated back between the 12th and 14th centuries. A photo shows what remains.
The park’s most recent ruins were from the 18th to 19th centuries, archaeologists said. These structures included part of a hospital and adjoining bath complex.
The roughly 100-year-old hospital gave the central pavilion and, by extension, the park its name.
The Sources de l’Hôpital, meaning Source of the Hospital, is a warm spring used as a well from the ancient Roman era through the early modern period, according to an article from the City of Vichy. By the 1800s, the well mainly served the nearby bathhouse and hospital.
A photo shows what’s left of these demolished buildings.
Vichy is a city in central France and a roughly 220-mile drive southeast of Paris.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) and article from the City of Vichy.
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 12:05 PM with the headline "1,700-year-old Roman pool — with a tunnel below — found at park in France. See it."
