Julius Caesar
We forgot to mention that Mirabeau sur Beze was the place where Caesar's 8th Legion was based. We were able to see quite a lot of artefacts from the 100BC encampment including an old pipe which had survived surprisingly well.
As we have been reading "Lustrum" by Robert Harris, it is fascinating to see things from that era while reading stories of the times when Julius Caesar was growing in power. The stories are through the eyes of Cicero's scribe. It's a pity I (Dave) did not learn Latin in this context while at school- it would have been much more interesting.
Yesterday, we visited Beaune, including the fantastic Hospice de Dieu. Did some more shopping for the barge and then had a fascinating time in the ancient city of Autun. Much of the 13metre high Roman wall still stands as well as a couple of the city gates. We actually drove through one which is constructed entirely without mortar. The Roman Theatre is still used today with perhaps a third of the seats still useable and indeed about to be used when we visited.
Just over two walls of the ancient Temple of Janus (Celtic, about 500BC) are still standing and just sitting in a farmer's field. It was rather a large structure.
Regards,
Dave & Penny
