The la Burlande dig.

provence, paradou, santons, village, aqueduc, archéologie, sculpture, antique, site romain, tourisme

In 1988, a remarkable ensemble was brought to light, comprising a collection basin, an aqueduct and a bridge crossing it.
To the south of the basin, two symmetrical structures built using the same technique as the basin are the remains of a road bridge used to cross the canal.
The bridge consisted not of a wooden apron, but of an arch in large-size bond and this blocks are in fact the springing "voussoirs" (or arch stones) of the bridge arch.

The route of the Aurelian road.

During the continuation of the dig at the la Burlande site, the road leading to the Roman bridge was also uncovered.
This enabled the experts to determine the exact route of the Aurelian road that once linked Arles and Aix-en-Provence.
Two milestones had already been found nearby, one at the Chabran mas and the other at Bas-Paradou.


The discovery of a number of graves on this site confirmed that it was the location of a necropolis and other pre-Roman buildings at the source of the Arcoule river.
The most spectacular of the objects found is without doubt the full-round sculpture known as the Lion of Arcoule.
It is fashioned in the shape of a seated, roaring lion with its front paws stretched out and which are thought to have originally rested on an additional element, such as perhaps a human body.
While the exact date of this sculpture is still unknown (second half of the 1st century BC), its funerary symbolism is certain.
provence, paradou, santons, village, aqueduc, archéologie, sculpture, antique, site romain, tourisme
Small cippuses and other more common objects such as pottery work were also found.


The village of Paradou