Ancient Roman gardens in the province of Gaul seen through literary and iconographic sources in confrontation with archaeological approach
Abstract
Literary sources, records and references to the Roman gardens in Gaul are scattered in works of ancient authors in which we can rely on relevant information in general. We can find specific descriptions on gardens in the works of later authors from the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries AD and they mostly refer to villae de otium in Campania which has been thoroughly excavated.
Common theme in garden mosaics, as an iconographic source, of Roman villas in Gaul is the repertoire of various species of birds. These motifs represent a graphical image transmission as an aviary or a hunting park, in analogy to the mosaics in North Africa, which belonged to the villa and which is otherwise difficult to prove archaeologically.
It may also represent an aucupium, hunting wild birds within venatia/munera, which is mentioned in Palladius's work. Similarly in this way a higher social status of the villa owner is also reflected.
Other iconographic sources are the wall frescoes which provide a rich source for knowledge strand of Roman gardens. These wall paintings depict a broad garden topic very similar to Pompeian frescoes.
To what extent is it possible to imply historical sources within excavations? Do historical sources relevantly help to complete excavations? Is it possible to prove archaeologically the veracity of historical sources?