Roman Theatre of Montaudou

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The Roman theatre of Montaudou is a performance building built in Gaul, in the city of Arvernes, on the present commune of Ceyrat in the department of Puy-de-Dôme. Its remains have been described since the beginning of the 19th century thanks to the presence of a long wall of about fifty meters, known locally as the Mur des Sarrasins. If it was interpreted as a sanctuary dedicated to Mercury and then as a Roman villa, from the second half of the 20th century the hypothesis of an ancient Roman theatre emerges.

However, this interpretation is validated only in a series of surveys conducted in the 2000s. Built at the end of the first century with a diameter of 51 m, the theatre has a second state around the second half of the second century, with a diameter of 81 m. However, it is a poorly documented building, particularly on its evolution and its abandonment.

If it is now assumed that the theatre is not isolated, including probable dwellings and a potential temple with centered plan, the exact nature of this pole located 1.5 km southwest of Augustastonemetum/Clermont-Ferrand is not known, the hypothesis of an independent secondary agglomeration...