Ever walked 800 miles in search of honour, adventure and wealth? This young man did. His name was Lucius Ducchius Rufinus – standard bearer to the Ninth Legion, son of Gaul and one of the founders of York. He is only known to us today because of his impressive tomb in the Yorkshire Museum.
Two thousand years later Lee Clark, York Museums Trust’s press officer, tells the story of his journey to Lucius’ homeland (by plane) to get a glimpse of the life he would have been used to before marching into the bleak, unknown badlands of the north.
Feeding “criminals” to wild beasts wasn’t that popular apparently. It was when most people chose to go and get their drinks and salty snacks. Even for the Gallo Romans, watching wild animals tearing into helpless, screaming individuals was a bit much.
As I sit in the peaceful surroundings of Nimes’ amphitheatre it is hard to imagine such a blood bath ever took place here. The 20,000 seat arena is the best preserved in the Roman world and with its other impressive remains, Nimes is the perfect place to get a sense of the grandeur of Gallo Roman life.
Wandering its cool, winding streets you stumble upon the almost complete temple called the Maison Caree, while high above, surrounded by parklands, you can climb the Tour Magne, for brilliant views over the city.
By the time of Lucius (we know he died aged 28 in York between 71-120AD) Nimes had a population of 60,000, with fountains, thermal baths and even mains-connected houses supplied with water from an aqueduct. The source was 50KM away with a drop in height of just 17m – a gradient as low as 0.007 per cent in some places.
The Pont du Gard, 15 miles north of Nimes is an awe inspiring monument to this technological skill – a 490m long, 48m tall bridge where the aqueduct crosses a ravine. The most interesting thing is that they had technology not to build it – but they chose the more difficult option. Why? Maybe, just because they could.
Arles, 20 miles from Nimes, has an amphitheatre which is almost the twin of Nimes, probably created by the same architect. The town was the main Roman shipping port on the Mediterranean and its excellent museum, the Musee Departemental Arles Antiques, gives a brilliant insight into the huge international trade pouring into Gaul at the time of Lucius.
These days Arles is drenched in the charm of a provincial town, it is easy to see why Van Gogh spent so much time here. Cafe culture abounds and surrounds the ancient monuments.
As well as the amphitheatre, Arles has a beautiful theatre, built in 1BC, showing that more refined entertainment was also enjoyed by the Gauls. It could house 7,500 people and was once fitted with sumptuous green and red marble and statues of gods.
From Arles I travelled north, roughly following the Roman road to the town of Vienne. Once capital to the Gaulish tribe the Allobroges, it was here, a few miles south of Lyon, that Lucius was born.
At the time, Vienne was one of the most important towns in the Empire and in 100 AD Tacitus described it as “historic and imposing.” It has a fantastic temple and the less impressive remains of a temple to Cybele, the Oriental Mother Goddess, where you could bathe in the blood of a sacrificed bull.
The stunning remains of the theatre housed 10,800 people and was the second biggest in Gaul. Sitting on one of its stone seats overlooking the whole town, it is strange to think Lucius probably sat here at some point enjoying the latest production.
Like Arles and Nimes, Vienne became rich on trade, with sixty thousand square metres of warehouses housing supplies such as skins, dried fruits, wine, fish in brine, fabrics and olive oil.
Nearly every spice we enjoy today would have been available – coriander and caraway from Egypt, cumin from Ethiopia and pepper from India. Marble was brought from the mines of Italy and Greece and even exotic pets such as panthers and lions would have been sold.
Lucius was born into this world and would have undoubtedly eaten Roman food, worshipped Roman gods and enjoyed Roman pastimes – but he didn’t abandon Gaulish beliefs completely. It is likely he would have worshipped Sucellus, the Gaulish god of agriculture and forests.
There is a statue to him in the museum, and, looking through the collection at the Yorkshire Museum, there is a ring with the name of the same God. It is one of the very rare examples outside France, once worn by a Gaul serving or working in York.
Sucellus was also the god of alcoholic drinks, something which was in keeping with Vienne’s Roman reputation for being an excellent area for wine production. While I was in the town there was a Roman wine festival, with the museum unveiling the first bottle of Allobroge/Roman wine produced using the tools, skills and ingredients they would have used 2,000 years ago.
For research purposes I gave it a try, while watching men in Roman costumes squash the grapes with their feet, ready for the next vintage. I am pretty sure Lucius would have longed for this, warmed by a red hot iron, on the long cold nights of the Yorkshire winter.
Indeed, it became clear that Lucius would have probably missed a great deal about his homeland. Even if Lucius arrived at the end of the Ninth’s time in York it would still have been very much a garrison town. It was also at one of the most northern points of the Empire, with only a trickle of supplies getting through compared to the vast warehouses that surrounded Lucius in Vienne.
The roasted duck seasoned with cumin and coriander, the beautiful decorated gardens, marble floors and the grandeur of Vienne’s forum would have seemed a long way away. Did he long for the great gladiator battles, the plays and, of course, the climate?
You can imagine him writing home, like soldiers do today, requesting items to be sent. Maybe he missed Gaul’s famous snails, cooked in garlic butter? They were a delicacy at the time revered throughout the Empire. I tried them, and personally I would not miss them a great deal.
Lee’s trip was paid for by the Robin Guthrie European Travel Award, a new annual award giving a member of York Museums Trust staff the opportunity to travel to Europe on a fact-finding trip. It was established in memory of our founding chairman, Robin Guthrie.
