Horreum de Narbonne

Useful Information

Location:	7 Rue Rouget de Lisle, 11100 Narbonne. (43.185570, 3.004670)
Open:	OCT to APR Tue-Sun, Hol 10-12, 14-17. MAY to SEP Tue-Sun, Hol 10-13, 14-18. Closed 01-JAN, 01-MAY, 25-DEC. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5, Children (0-26) free, Disabled free. Groups (+): Adults EUR 3. Guided Tour EUR 2. [2023]
Classification:	Cellar
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	North wing: L=37.7 m. West wing: L=50.85 m.
Guided tours:	self guided. Guided: D=1 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Abbé Louis Sigal (1954): Les horrea de Narbonne, Gallia Année 1954 12-1 pp. 93-96. online Yves Solier (1973): Note sur les galeries souterraines de Narbonne, Publications de l'École Française de Rome Année 1973 14 pp. 315-324. online
Address:	Roman Granary Museum, 7 Rue Rouget de Lisle, 11100 Narbonne, Tel: +33-468-32-45-30. E-mail: EPCC Narbo Via, 2, avenue André Mècle, 11100 Narbonne, Tel: +33-468-90-28-98. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1st century BC	Horreum built as warehouse of the Roman city Narbo Martius.
5th century	existence of public buildings mentioned by the Gallo-Roman politician , bishop and writer Sidonius Apollinaris.
1838-1842	first excavation by the members of the Archaeological and Literary Commission of Narbonne.
1930-1943	explored and excavated by Abbé Signal, excavations ended by World War II.
10-MAR-1961	declared a Historic Monument.
1967 and 1968	north and west wing excavated by archaeologist Yves Solier.
1976	opened to the public.
1997	site extended by an exhibition space and two courtyards.
2020	site integrated into the EPCC Narbo Via.

Description

The Horreum de Narbonne, also Horreum Romain or simply L'Horreum, is a storage facility used by the Roman Empire to store grain, oil, and other food supplies. These storehouses, which were built throughout the empire, were important for ensuring a steady supply of food for the Roman population, particularly in times of scarcity or during periods of military conflict. Horrea were typically large, multi-story buildings with a strong, secure design to protect the stored goods from theft or spoilage. Some of the most famous examples of horrea can still be seen today in cities like Rome, Pompeii, and Ostia Antica. The Horreum in Narbonne is located in the heart of the city, a hundred meters north of the Palace of the Archbishops.

The Galleries Souteraines Romains are the remains of the Horreum, and part of the Narbo Via museum. The main museum is also located in the city Narbonne, about 1.3 km to the southeast. The Roman warehouse is mostly destroyed, only the underground foundations of this monument are still preserved. The passages are 5 m below the modern surface.

The galleries of the Horreum have west, south and north wing forming a U, the south wing is partly destroyed. The passages are flanked on both sides by small rooms with narrow openings. A secondary gallery is attached to the north branch. All passages together have a size of 200 m², the vaults are 2.3 m high. The walls of the foundation were built of limestone rubble bound with concrete, so-called opus incertum (irregular work). The ancient Roman construction technique, using irregularly shaped and randomly placed uncut stones or fist-sized tuff blocks inserted in a core of opus caementicium (Roman concrete) was considered a stable and rather inexpensive masonry. The floor are a compact mixture of clay, lime and gravel, in the north-west passage, an opus spicatum pavement suggests that this was the place of the staircase. The cellars had neither wells nor windows, they were not intended for longer stay, and were lit only by oil lamps. The foundation isolated the warehouse from the humidity of the ground, a principle used commonly in warehouses and markets (mercatus) or covered markets (macellum).

The foundation were used during the times as private cellars. The scholar G.-A Lafont visited the site in the early 18th century, but he confused them with the Roman amphitheater. Between 1838 and 1842, the members of the Archaeological and Literary Commission of Narbonne made the first excavation. Excavations by Abbé Signal since 1930 were ended by World War II in 1943. They are open to the public since 1976, in 1997 the site was extended by an exhibition space and two courtyards. In 2020 the Horreum became a part of the EPCC Narbo Via, a public institution for cultural cooperation which also manages the Narbo Via museum and the Amphoralis site museum in Sallèles-d'Aude.

The Horreum is located in downtown Narbonne. This part of the city is semi-pedestrian, so it is necessary to walk there. From the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville or Place du Forum take Rue Droite then Rue Armand Gauthier and turn left on Rue Rouget de Lisle. Free shuttles connect the train station, the Horreum and the Narbo Via museum.