The Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac is an archaeological site located in Montréal-du-Gers in the Gers department (Occitania, France). Since 2008, the Villa has been part of the ELUSA Capitale Antique archaeological center.
Location
The site of the Séviac villa is located in the commune of Montréal-du-Gers, in the department of Gers, on a plateau located at the confluence of the Auzoue and the Argentans. It meets the usual conditions for this type of place, since its altitude (135.25 m) allows it to avoid humidity and flooding. Séviac is located a dozen kilometers from the ancient city of Elusa (today, Eauze).
The site was discovered by chance during the construction of a farm in the 1860s. In 1959, Paulette Aragon-Launet (1913-1992), member of the Archaeological Society of Gers, reactivated the excavations. Helped by her children, she unearthed mosaics already inventoried, then directed an excavation campaign in 1961 which made it possible to uncover the west wing of the villa. Paulette Aragon-Launet founded the Association for the Safeguarding of Monuments and Sites of Armagnac in 1966, which owned the site where excavations were organized every summer for thirty years, from 1967 to 1997. In 2003, ownership of the site is transferred to the municipality of Montréal-du-Gers.
Séviac, classified as a historic monument in 1978 (extended by an inscription in 2012 then in 2014), is particularly renowned for its set of mosaics that specialists refer to as the School of Aquitaine.
This set, unique in France, they were installed between the last third of the 4th century and the first half of the 5th century. Polychromes with geometric, then vegetal, frames. In 2018, nearly 625 new square meters were found. They are today protected from bad weather by a 2070 square meter structure with a translucent roof.
How to get to?
From Paris: 7 hr 19 min (725 km) via A10
From Toulouse: 1 hr 57 min (130 km) via N124
From Andorra: 4 hr 18 min (312 km) via N124
From Barcelona: 6 hr 11 min (457 km) via C-16
From Madrid: 7 hr 16 min (677 km) via A-1
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