Moving eastward we pass Le Luc (Forum Voconii) in the middle of the fertile “garden of Provence,” where one Roman sculpture of a boar hunt has been preserved; and following the course of the river Argens, with the rocky mountains of Les Maures on the right we arrive at Fréjus, an important sea-port in Roman times, and then known as Julii Forum.
This town is supposed to have been first occupied by the Phœnicians, and afterwards by the Greek colonists. It was enlarged and improved by Julius Cæsar and Augustus. It then possessed a valuable harbour at the mouth of the river Argens, to which Augustus sent the fleet of galleys which he took from Anthony at the battle of Actium; but the sediment of the river has now silted up the harbour, and formed a flat plain of about a mile in breadth between the ancient port and the sea. The protecting walls of the harbour, with a solid obelisk at the end, which no doubt marked the entrance, still remain, but are now high and dry on the plain. Adjoining these are the walls of a strong fort or castellum for the protection of the port, built with Roman masonry of small sized cubic stones. The “Porte dorée,” is an archway close to the railway, built with similar masonry, divided with courses of brick work, now greatly restored and renewed. It is
FIG. 27. AMPHITHEATRE, FRÉJUS.
supposed to have been the gate between the port and the town. Some ruins of the baths have been discovered adjoining this. Considerable remains of the ancient Roman city walls, enclosing five times the extent of the present town, still remain. Close to the railway station relics of the “gate of Gaul,” and other Roman works are observable. Following these from the railway station towards the left, the ruins of the Roman Amphitheatre ([Fig. 27]), through which the public road passes by a picturesque archway, are soon reached. The interior is fairly preserved, together with the arches which sustained the seats, staircases, &c., but the exterior walls and arcades (if the building ever had an ornamental exterior, which is doubtful) are now completely awanting. The Amphitheatre is 375 ft. long by 273 ft. wide. The east side rests on the slope of a hill, so that little building was required in that position, but the west side of the structure is raised from the level plain.
Continuing round the old walls of the town to the eastward, we find in a garden the ruins of a Roman Theatre. The dimensions of this building, which was of small size compared to those we have met with at Orange and Arles, are quite traceable, but the scena is gone all but the foundations, and only some walls and ruined arches of the auditorium remain above ground.
A little further round the walls, traces are observed of the great aqueduct which brought the water of the river Siagnolles to Fréjus from a distance of above 20 miles. On turning the north-east angle of the walls, the ruined piers of the aqueduct are seen stretching across the plain. At the above point the conduit is in a canal owing to the height of the ground. On reaching the main road leading from Fréjus to the eastwards, the aqueduct takes a sudden bend to the east, and follows the road for a considerable distance. At this bend was an entrance gate of the town, called the gate of Rome, a portion of which still exists. From here a branch canal took the water to the port. In its long course the aqueduct is sometimes in cutting, and sometimes carried on lofty piers and arches 87 feet wide. Those near the town ([Fig. 28]) are amongst the finest specimens, but some portions in the more remote valleys also still retain their arches, and at one place the aqueduct is carried in two parallel canals on separate arches.