Circulation aux abords de Cularo et de Gratianopolis

Abstract

This article aims to provide the present known data for establishing the circulation on the outskirts of the village of Cularo, which had had a minor enclosure in the 3rd century, and then became Gratianopolis with the rank of capital city at the end of the 4th century. Grenoble/Gratianopolis is situated at the crossroads of three untameable rivers (the Isère, the Drac and the Verderet), and is hence not in favour of an easy circulation outside the town, on the left bank of the river Isère. The geographical and hydrological context of the site leads the author to analyse the floods that have marked the city over the centuries. In taking into account the archaeological observations of this phenomenon as well as the burial level on the right bank of the same river in the 4th century, the author highlights the circulation level on that side, which is incompatible with the bridge situated upstream from the city. [Transl. by the Redaction]