Musée Gallo-Romain in Petit Bersac is one of those lovely local museums you cannot pass without stopping for a visit. Petit Bersac is now a small and quiet village but has been a significant Gallo-roman center in ancient times.
Musée Gallo-Romain shows the findings of excavations done in and around Petit Bersac. An enormous villa lies underneath existing buildings as well as thermal baths. That indicates that Petit Bersac was probably an administrative center and antique inn on a crossroad of two main roads. These routes date from pre-roman times and were used far into the Middle Ages.
Only a small part of the villa has been recovered. From 1965 till 1974 Jean Pichardie carried out some extensive excavations. His findings are now in Musée Gallo-Romain in Petit Bersac. There was another excavation in 2011 but a lot more rests in the ground of Petit Bersac. It is either impossible to excavate more because of existing buildings on top of the site, or too expensive to start official excavations. So the best is maybe still to come. We know that Petit Bersac was not that ‘petit’ (‘small’) in ancient times, but more precise details lack.
The Musée Gallo-Romain offers you the opportunity to smell this rich past without seeing it all (yet). This Musée is run by volunteers who are quite knowledgeable and willing to share their best stories. They will show you the drawings Pichardie made of the design on terracotta potteries that is not very well visible with a simple eye. Musée Gallo-Romain in Petit Bersac has good information signs in French and English. You will also find some fine artefacts that make you dream of the hidden and mighty past in Petit Bersac. My top 3 artefacts:
The bronze rooster, a small and very fine piece of work. It is called ‘Rod topped by a rooster’ (‘Tige surmontée d’un coq’)
The collection of knives. You’d wonder what they needed so much knives for, knowing that only part of the site has been excavated yet.
Marble pieces that once served some kind of wall decoration (photo lost some of the fine colours).
Musée Gallo-Romain in Petit Bersac houses next to the XI century church, that was built on a former, very early church of the Wisigoths, that in turn was probably built on an ancient gallo-roman temple. Wonderfull idea, isn’t it 🙂
Opening times in July and August from 14.30 – 18.00 and on request through the Mairie or a phone number indicated at the museum door. Petit Bersac is just a few kilometers from Ribérac, at the shores of the Dronne in the north of the Dordogne, close to the Charente. Worth a visit!
Other sites in the region you may like:
Aubeterre Underground Church
Musée d’Angoulême: beautiful
Vesunna Museum in Périgueux
and in the Netherlands, a similar local museum:
Archaeological Museum Haarlem