history of Lyon – Dear Liza

May 14

Dear Liza,

Once they got settled in, the Roman Empire was in Lyon for a long time. For 368 years, from 43 AD to 411 AD, the Roman Empire built and ran Lyon, which was then called Lugdunum.

It’s no wonder, when the Empire fell and the Roman army left, that a lot of stuff was left laying around.

Great piles of that stuff has been collected by folks who came later, from Medieval farmers to modern archeologists, and put into this wonderful, modern Musée at Lyon.

The museum itself is a wonder. Built right into the back wall of the cliff that houses the amphitheater, it spirals down, leaving only the entrance and a few windows to give it away. Artifacts are arranged by era and type, so we can see the progression in ceramics, jewelry making, and glass work.

We get to see the variety of religious articles, from tiny pocket divinities to greater than life sized statues that Romans looked to for comfort and protection.

And the floors. I told you there would be floors, didn’t I? Many of the houses of Lyon, once they were properly excavated, were found to have these magnificent mosaic floors.

I actually got emotional, sitting right there, touching a floor that Roman moms played with their babies on, that dogs ran across, that people hugged and cried and celebrated on. These weren’t characters in a stone fresco. They were humans, making their way through life.

We kept spiraling our way down, learning about how people moved around the Empire, from Turkey and Spain, Germany and Iraq, to make the Empire diverse and powerful.

And when we reached the end, we were at the bottom of the Amphitheater, and just walked across the stage and down the road into town. From the ancient everyday world to the modern everyday world.

Amazing.

Love,

Grandma Judy

May 12

Dear Liza

After we finished lunch at the cafe by Notre Dame de Fourviere, Bridgett and I walked about 10 minutes down the road and went even further back in history.

Because, you see, people have been building on this hill for many, many centuries. The Roman city of Lugdunum was built on this hill in 53 BC or so, a few years after Julius Caesar was assassinated. This city included a forum, temples, houses, baths, and amphitheaters, just like every other Roman city.

Most of the houses, which were built of stone, have been ‘recycled’ into churches and newer houses over the centuries between then and now.

But much of the main amphitheater, which could seat 10,000 people, is still here. It had been buried by silt and overgrowth; protected, ironically, by ignorance and neglect. Unearthed and repaired in the 1940s, we can now climb, sit, visit, and wonder about the people who made this place.

With 10,000 people here for a performance of any sort, there would have been toilets (yes, with flowing water under the seats) and snacks (small shops behind the back rows). A grand villa stood just behind the theater, with proper Roman baths and mosaics on the floors. (They have been moved for protection… more on that later.)

There were even some ancient hidey holes for me to shinny through! I think this conduit probably brought water up the hill. Romans were very clever with pumps and engineering.

When we had walked and climbed and stared at the grandeur that was here, it was time to, as Bridgett said, “Go see what all this means”. So we went into the Musée.

Tag: history of Lyon

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