Montmaurin: Archaeological Sites and History

Montmaurin brings together archaeological collections, architectural traces and a history spanning antiquity to a medieval pilgrimage tradition. For planning your visit, you can choose between different highlights: Villa Lassalles, the museum in the village and Villa de la Hillère.

Villa Lassalles: Size and Architecture

Villa Lassalles is one of the largest known villas in France and today covers 1.5 hectares. It has almost 150 rooms; several areas have hypocaust underfloor heating. Its area and room count offer two measures of the site’s scale: the area describes the entire complex, while the number of rooms reflects its many-part layout. The bath wing includes a colonnaded gallery beside a pool. Here, a specific architectural feature takes the place of the overall area. The villa can therefore be viewed both in terms of its size and through its individual architectural features.

Archaeological Museum and Visit

Montmaurin’s archaeological museum displays terra sigillata pottery, coins and jewellery from its ancient collections. An interactive model illustrates the 350,000-year history of this remarkable site. The museum thus places individual objects alongside an overview of its long history: one draws attention to the finds, the other to their historical context. The self-guided visit begins at the museum in the village and then continues at the site of the Gallo-Roman Villa Lassalles. Staff from the monuments administration help visitors explore the archaeological sites and the museum. If you would like to factor this assistance into your plans, check in advance what options are available.

Villa de la Hillère and Chapelle Notre-Dame

Villa de la Hillère is built around a spring outlet, and its reception room faces the spring. The spring therefore shapes not only the layout but also the orientation of this room. Because of its reputed healing properties, it was associated with the establishment of a pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages. The Chapelle Notre-Dame can be visited at the ancient site of Hillère; several mosaics are housed there. Check whether a visit is possible before setting off if you plan to visit the chapel. Compared with Lassalles, Hillère’s historical significance is less about the site’s extent and bath architecture and more about its orientation towards the spring and its medieval pilgrimage tradition.

Gorges de la Save and Getting There

Animal bones and the discovery of the Venus de Lespugue in the Gorges de la Save attest to a human presence in the Paleolithic. The area is also considered a remarkable ecosystem, allowing archaeological and ecological themes to be explored side by side. The archaeological sites can be reached by road from Tarbes via Saint-Gaudens, and from Toulouse through the Save or Garonne valleys. As traffic and roadworks can affect route information, check the current route before you travel.

More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Chein-Dessus, Drudas, Nogaret, Villenouvelle, Malvezie, Ganties, Mauvaisin, Bélesta-En-Lauragais.

Back to the main travel overview: Haute-Garonne.