They are extraordinary: the delicate jugs look no more than a century old, but were made 2, years ago and have remained intact because they were placed in sarcophagi. I wonder how few people have touched them in the two millennia since they were buried with their owners. Fun displays include a booth that projects your image back dressed in Roman clothing. Other original pieces, including theatrical masks, tombstones and mosaics that act as time machines to an era that seems altogether more recent than the time of Jesus Christ.
The arena — the best preserved in France — was built in about AD70, when it could seat the entire population. Even today it fills to its 24, capacity for its Roman re-enactments and bullfights. I climb the steep steps to the top and gaze down into the perfect oval. This enchanting warren is a lovely place in which to wander, the narrow lanes home to dozens of independent clothes and homeware boutiques.
Here the streets open out to the grand square, where an ornate white-pillared temple stands on a raised level. It was blackened by pollution before its renovation, completed in , but is now every bit the showpiece.
The ornate baroque gardens, all terraces, statues and ornamental ponds, have drawn hundreds of locals to bask in the late afternoon spring sunshine. The next morning I drive along plane tree-lined roads between wide open vineyards bound for this most famous of bridges. If the Romans knew something about water, they also knew about wine. Durand began researching Roman wine and, using measurements listed in historical documents, recreated an enormous wine press that includes a 7m tree trunk weighing 2,kg, which crushes the grapes each harvest.
The wine is then made according to three Roman recipes and fermented in clay pots, with herbs, spices and honey added to make it truly authentic. I taste all three and the most popular, carenum, a sweet dessert-style wine with hints of quince, proves surprisingly moreish.
