The house of the Rhodian peristyle in the Grassi Garden: a discreet witness to Roman habitation in Aquae Sextiae
- Arko The App
- Dec 30, 2025
- 4 min read
Located in the northern half of the ancient city of Aix-en-Provence, the house with a Rhodian peristyle in the Jardin de Grassi is one of the best-documented remains of Roman residential housing in Aquae Sextiae. Although far from spectacular in its current state of preservation, it remains a valuable source of information for understanding the organization, level of comfort, and architectural choices of the local elite in Roman times.
A residential neighbourhood for the city's dignitaries
The domus of the Jardin de Grassi is part of a vast ancient residential neighbourhood, identified from the earliest archaeological research as one of the wealthiest areas of the city. Five large houses have been identified in this area. These residences, built by prominent citizens of Aix, occupied large areas and were designed to combine domestic functions, social representation and pleasure.
Like many urban domus in Narbonensis, they were richly decorated: floor mosaics, wall paintings, marble veneers and hydraulic installations bear witness to a refined lifestyle, without reaching the ostentatious luxury of certain Italian villas. The Jardin de Grassi thus offers a balanced picture of provincial aristocratic housing, both Romanised and adapted to local constraints.
A partially excavated house
The house known as the ‘Rhodian peristyle’ was excavated over an area of approximately 360 m². This partial excavation does not allow for the entire layout to be reconstructed, but it has revealed the structural elements of the dwelling. The general layout is adapted to the sloping terrain characteristic of this area of Aix, with terraced levels and retaining walls.
The rooms are arranged around interior courtyards, following a layout common in Roman domestic architecture. However, one of the distinctive features of this house is the particular shape of one of these courtyards: the Rhodian peristyle.
The Rhodian Peristyle: an Architectural Distinctiveness
The main courtyard is framed by a double-height portico, identified as a Rhodian peristyle. This type of peristyle, of Hellenistic origin and described by Vitruvius, is characterized by a gallery that is higher on one side, intended to improve lighting and to create a sense of moderate monumentality.
At the Jardin de Grassi, this arrangement does not result from a spectacular architectural choice, but rather from an elegant solution adapted to the site’s topography and to the needs of the house. The peristyle does not develop evenly on all four sides: its asymmetry reflects both the constraints of the terrain and the different phases in the layout of the domus.
Decoration and Interior Layout
The uncovered remains attest to a carefully designed yet relatively restrained decorative scheme. The floors were covered with predominantly geometric mosaics, often in two colors, characteristic of the early phases of the Imperial period. Some reception rooms display more elaborate motifs, highlighting their central role in the social life of the house.
At the base of the walls, marble plinths or painted plaster were preserved. Fragments of wall paintings, moldings, and marble revetments have been recovered, attesting to the quality of the interior decoration. Overall, the evidence suggests genuine comfort and a measured desire for social display, consistent with the status
Domestic facilities completed this layout: basins, wells, drainage channels, and water-collection systems indicate that the house was equipped with functional infrastructure well integrated into its architectural design.
Dating and occupation of the site
The objects uncovered during the excavations—ceramics, glassware, coins, decorative elements, and mosaics - make it possible to date the construction of the house to the early 1st century AD. This chronology corresponds to a phase of significant development at Aquae Sextiae, when the city experienced notable urban and residential expansion.
The exact date at which the house was abandoned by its owners remains unknown. However, evidence of temporary occupations has been identified up to the early 6th century: rudimentary rearrangements, late basins, and the rebuilding of walls using reused materials. These traces point to a gradual and deteriorating use of the spaces, without any lasting residential continuity.
After this period, the house—like the Grassi district as a whole—was definitively abandoned. The contraction of the ancient city and the refocusing of settlement on more fortified areas largely explain this abandonment.
Scientific interest rather than monumental value
Today, the house with the Rhodian peristyle in the Jardin de Grassi does not impress by the scale of its visible remains. Its interest lies elsewhere: in the quality of the archaeological data it has yielded and in what it reveals about urban Roman domestic architecture in southern Gaul.
For Arko, this site perfectly illustrates the importance of so-called “discreet” remains. Although not spectacular, the Jardin de Grassi domus makes an essential contribution to our understanding of Aquae Sextiae, its urban layout, and the way of life of its wealthiest inhabitants during the Roman period.
Links
3D reconstruction of the domus with a Rhodian peristyle
Bibliography
BENOIT (F.).- Recherches archéologiques dans la région d’Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), Il : La maison à double péristyle du Jardin de Grassi à Aix-en-Provence. Dans Gallia, 5-1, 1947, p. 98-122.
BENOIT (F.).- Informations archéologiques. Dans Gallia, 16, 1958, p. 417-419.
BENOIT (F.).- Informations archéologiques. Dans Gallia, 18, 1960, p. 296-300.
DAMPEINE (M.).- Recueil des mosaïques des Bouches-duRhône et du Var, thèse de IIIe cycle, Université de Provence, 1980, nos 151-156.
JACOB (J.-R).- Informations. Dans Gallia, 1987-88, p. 226.
BOIRON (R.), BONIFAY (M.).- Le jardin archéologique de Grassi. Dans Impressions du Musée Granet, 2, juillet 1988, p. 37-38
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