Oh, when the Saintes....

  As I have said before, it is often due to the visit of a friend or relative that we are driven to explore in more depth the attractions of the Region. Patrick and Cécile from Lille are with us this week, and we decided to visit Saintes.   Patrick is a lover of `vielles pierres` and Saintes has an abundance of Roman remains to satisfy anyone.
  However, before starting on the Romans, we visited the Church of St. Eutrope, site of the burial of the above-named saint.

  We were  going to have a `visite guidée` but due to heavy traffic, arrived a bit late and missed the tour. Still, we had a good poke around on our own. The church is huge and has been rebuilt and extended from time to time as such buildings are. What most struck us was that there are, in fact, two churches, one on top of the other. There is a creepy crypt underneath, which used to welcome the pilgrims making the trip to Compostelle and a much more luxurious and better lit church above, which was reserved for the monks! On the left is a shot of the crypt with the stone coffin of the Saint, only about three feet long, which seems to suggest a very modest size! However we learnt that his `chef` or head was not included and was on site in the main church above, where it enjoyed a more luxurious reliquary... I believe also that the remnants of the Saint had been gathered up and re-buried at a time well after his death by martyrdom.
  Later, we went to visit the Arcus Germanicus, the substantial  arch at the head of this blog. This edifice originally was situated at the beginning of the Roman bridge across the Charente . This was the lowest permanent bridge across the river and was the main reason for the founding of the town at this spot. When the bridge was replaced with a more modern one many years ago, the Arch was removed and rebuilt in its present position nearby.
 We also had a wander round the old town abattoir, which now houses an impressive collection of Roman stones and statuary
   After a picnic lunch in a well-kept park, which had a small collection of fowl and some goats, we went on to see the amphitheatre, one of Saintes` main attractions. This time we did not miss the start of the guided visit and the young lady showing us around was very well informed of all the facts and figures.
 The arena was built in about 50 AD profiting from a natural valley to provide support for the seats on each side. The top of the valley was filled in and the remaining end had a wall and sub-structure built to support the rows of seats. Not much of the superstructure remains but as you can see from my photo, the arena itself is almost intact and gives a good idea of its original shape. It was used for gladiatorial combats including fights with local fauna such as wolves,bears and sangliers. The most important personages had front-row seats and to stop them having a too-close view of the animals, a stone parapet with a sort of lip formed the top of the wall separating the arena from the benches. Stakes and a net were also fitted to protect the spectators.

At each end of the arena, there were entry and exit tunnels. The tunnel at the bottom of the valley was the `live` entry where the gladiators and animals would parade into the ring, At the other end was the `dead` exit where fallen competitors were dragged off to the morgue...This is the West end, perhaps the origin of the saying `He`s gone West`? Here is a pic of the gloomy exit tunnel. Strange to stand where so many unfortunates had been unceremoniously dragged out!.

After the presentation, as we made our way out of the bottom of the amphitheatre, seats were being arranged for a musical event.  There`s life in the old site yet!!!
  Bye for now, or should I say `Hail, Caesar!`