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The Porte de Mars is a Roman monument in Reims, dating from the 3rd
century. It takes its name from the proximity of a temple dedicated to
Mars, the Roman god of war. This monument is the widest arch in the
Roman world.
The Porte de Mars was classified as a historical
monument in 1840.
The Mars gate is the only surviving arch of the four monumental
arches erected at the cardinal entrances of Durocortorum, the others
being the Cérès or Trèves gate (East gate, rue Cérès, dismantled in
1798), the Bazée gate (from basilicaris, South gate , rue de
l'Université) and the porte de Vénus or de Soissons (west gate, in front
of the Opera, dismantled in 1755). The latest archaeological work on the
monument allows us to date it to the first quarter of the 3rd century.
Initially built to testify to the greatness of the city under the
Early Empire, the arch was included in the 4th century in the rampart,
it was then that it became one of the four entrances to the city. The
layout of the enclosure of the Lower Empire is based on the four
existing arches and transforms them into an access door, thus the North
arch becomes the Mars door and marks the North entrance to the city. The
Mars Gate was later included in the Château des Archbishops, around
1228. When the rampart was rebuilt in the 14th century, the arcades were
blocked up and a new Mars Gate, with a drawbridge, was then built 100 m
further to the east. is to resume its function (on the site of the
Boulingrin market being excavated in 2011). The latter disappeared in
the middle of the 19th century with the dismantling of the rampart.
The castle of the Archbishops was destroyed in 1595 by order of
Henri IV. We guess some elements of the walled door. It was rediscovered
for the first time in 1677 when it was partially cleared. At the time,
the first surveys of these decorations were carried out, which have
since largely deteriorated. But it was not until 1816 that the monument
was truly rediscovered. The gate is totally free of the gangue that
protected it in 1844 when the ramparts were dismantled. It was finally
completely extracted from the embankments and restored in 1854.
It is an arch 33 m long, 13 meters high (current height, the
summit part must have included an entablature which has now
disappeared) and 6.40 meters thick, consisting of three arches
adorned with eight columns on piles on the facades, and two columns
on each side. In the solid spaces between the columns there was a
decoration consisting of a niche with a triangular pediment,
surmounted by a medallion with a head in high relief. They are now
severely degraded, apart from that of the western part rebuilt in
1854.
The intrados of the vaults, today very degraded, offers
a rare and interesting representation of a Gallic harvester5 which
is part of a calendar of field work illustrated by a series of
medallions (ploughmen, grape pickers, harvesters, miller, etc. .).
Under the west arcade, a square medallion shows the Roman she-wolf
suckling Romulus and Remus under the eyes of the shepherd Faustulus
and Acca Larentia. This scene was interpreted as a present to recall
the filiation which intimately links Reims and Rome, since a local
legend has it that Reims was founded by Remus himself or by his
companions, after they had fled Rome. Finally, under the very
damaged East arcade, we can see Leda and Zeus taking the form of a
swan. On the floor of the central arcade, we can see the grooves dug
to guide the wheels of the cars.
Contrary to popular belief,
the Porte de Mars is not a “triumphal” arch. Indeed, during Roman
times, the triumphal arches were reserved for Rome. All the other
ancient arches are only "monumental", since no Roman triumph has
ever taken place anywhere but in Rome.
Archeology
The
Porte de Mars owes its preservation to its walling in the enclosure
of the castle of the Archbishops in the 13th century. During the
dismantling of the ramparts undertaken in 1840, the question arose
of the future of the monument. Prosper Mérimée then worked to
mobilize public opinion and the funds needed to save the arch.
Following this, Narcisse Brunette reconstructed the west pilaster on
the side of the promenades in 1854. Clumsy restorations and
consolidation were carried out in the 19th and 20th centuries. In
1983-1984, the Historic Monuments carried out major scientific
restoration work.
A tree and a plaque are present right next
to it in memory of the soldiers who served in the East and of
Alexander of Serbia during the First World War.
Patronage:
Restoration campaigns for the Porte de Mars 2015-2021
The
monument has been the subject of a new restoration campaign since
July 2015 and has been fully covered. The first stage took place
until the end of 2018, the concrete cover of the 19th century which
no longer allowed a good sealing of the monument was replaced by a
lead cover and the addition of a network drainage of rainwater. The
architrave was also restored as a continuation of the fragment
rebuilt in the 19th century.
After this first phase of work,
the Porte de Mars benefits from a second call for sponsorship. This
time, it is a question of restoring the facings and decorations of
the door. This second phase should begin by the end of 2020-early
2021.
Since 2011, on the occasion of major changes to the
traffic plan for the center of Reims for the passage of the tramway,
the Porte de Mars has benefited from a new perspective that puts it
in better value and facilitates pedestrian access. The roundabout of
the Place de la République has been removed, the space thus
pedestrianized extends the walks. The Porte de Mars is part of their
continuity and is no longer isolated by dense urban traffic. At the
same time, the ruts that were on the road under the porch and the
aqueduct that ran along the door were brought to light. The
renovation of the Hautes-Promenades between 2018 and 2020 allowed
the development of a large square in front of the Porte de Mars,
thus enhancing it even more while awaiting the next restorations.
The Bazée gate, or Collatice gate (Collatitia) was originally a
monumental arch erected to the glory of Durocortorum at the southern
entrance to the city. It must have been very similar to the Porte de
Mars and formed with the latter the cardo (north-south axis). Its
current name comes from porta Basilicaris, because one reached by this
door the churches of the suburbs, it is also the arc from which the
Caesarea way started which led to Rome. The Bazée gate was integrated
into the fortified belt formed by the rampart during the Lower Empire
period. At the start of the Middle Ages, the archbishops of Reims must
have had a nearby residence since Flodoard reports that Rigobert, then
bishop of Reims, accessed the gate from his palace. It is from there
that he would have refused entry into the city to Charles Martel. This
earned him his removal from the episcopate shortly afterwards.
Part of the stones of the arch were used for the construction of this
way as evidenced by the excavations carried out in 1971. In fact, the
road passed under the small western arcade. The gate lost its importance
when the enclosure was extended to the south in the 13th and 14th
centuries. The arcade that remained was destroyed in 1753 during the
reorganization of the water supply, the memory of it was preserved by
the sculpture of reliefs in the antique style.
A vestige of the
pile is visible at the level of the refectory of the University College,
rue de l'Université. This set has been classified as a historical
monument since January 30, 1981.
Called Porte de Soissons then Porte aux Ferrons, it owes the name of
"Porte de Vénus" to historians of the modern period. It is the western
arc of the Gallo-Roman city, located on Place Myron-Herrick opposite the
Opera. The monumental remains of the foundations of the arc were
unearthed during the excavation campaign carried out in 2007-2008 before
the breakthrough of the tramway lines. The dimensions bring it closer to
the arc of Mars. This door marks the passage of the decumanus (east-west
way) in the ancient center. Under this arch, a vaulted sewer 2.90 meters
high and 1 meter wide was cleared, practically intact and at a shallow
depth. The arch was built in the 2nd or 3rd century AD.
Gate of
Ceres or Trier
Even today the existence of the Roman gate of Ceres is
not attested but the recent discovery of the gate of Venus makes the
hypothesis of a fourth arch under the current esplanade Cérès a little
more plausible.