Les matériaux de construction en terre cuite dans les thermes de la Gaule Narbonnaise

In Roman architecture, baths are among the greatest consumers of terra cotta of all sorts: tegulae mammatae, tubuli, and bricks of different kinds. Capable of withstanding extreme temperature variations, they are used in hypocausts and in the upper parts of the buildings. Previous studies have often focused on one particular type of material or on the totality of the material across wide ranges of the Empire on the basis of published evidence. No study of the totality of evidence available in a single province has yet been attempted.

Focused on Gaul Narbonnensis, this work aims to fill that gap. Exhaustive research combined with systematic mapping casts new light on the diffusion of cartoons reproduced more or less faithfully in potters' workshops, models which had until now been noticed only in the plans of the buildings or in the grander architectural elements.