And I want to turn to a couple of those now.
The arch at [UNKNOWN] also in the south of France.
You see it here.
It dates to around 20 BC and it probably served as both
an arch in honor of these victories that Augustus celebrated here but
also as a gateway into the city. It's very simple.
It looks very much like we've come to know Augustian
arches are with a single arcuated bay in the center.
Columns in this case on two separate bases.
Fluted columns.
They're, the capitals are not preserved so we don't
know if they were Corinthian but they were probably Corinthian.
A very elaborate archivolt as you can
see here with the coffering extremely well preserved.
And then if you look very closely at the decoration
you see a couple of figures standing on either side.
These are actually, they're headless now.
But they're actually figures of captives, of captives, of local captives
to make reference again to the fact that this was military.
A military operation that allowed Augustus to take over these to subjugate
these 44 Alpine tribes and, and others in this particular area.
And that that subjugation is referred to
here by the representation of those captured barbarians.
A much more important and more interesting arch, is this one.
It's an arch that is located in Orange,
back to Orange, also in the south of France.
The date of this monument is very controversial.
And I think by looking at the general view and also a detail, you can see why.
It is a triple-bayed arch with a large
central arch, two smaller ones on either side.
With columns on tall bases, Corinthian columns in between them.
You can see that the central element
with its pediment projects into the viewer's face.
You can also see that the every
inch of space is completely covered with decoration.
Figural decoration, piles of arms and armor from the enemy,
so much so that it tends to de-materialize the arch.
These are all characteristics of later Roman architecture, think the Arch of
Septimius Severus, which I'll show you again in a moment, which has
led some scholars to date this as late as AD 200 or
AD 203, 204, at the same time as the arch of Septimius Severus.
And it was long thought to be that also because no one could concede that
this idea of the triple bayed arch could turn up in let's say, Augustian or
Tiberian France, Gaul. Before i turned up in Rome.
So getting up to that issue I've
raised on several occasions about center and periphery.
Does everything flow from the center?
Or are sometimes they're formed sometimes developed
in the periphery and then make their
way back into the center is a, a, an age old and very interesting question
to ask.
But I think you can see the reasons why
scholars, some scholars have dated this to the Severan period.
Here's the view and I'll say more about that in a moment.
A view here with a, another view showing an engraving giving you a sense
of the kind of sculptural decoration that would have been placed at the top.
The omnipresent figure in the chariot, four horse, or in this case,
four horse, I think, in this case, chariot.
And then figures or captured, captured individ-, captured
barbarians, as well as trophies, on the apex.
Here's our comparison with the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Roman Forum.
And I think you can see the cl-, the close association between the two.
The triple bay, the profusion of decoration that we see in the arch on
the left hand side as well.
Here's a detail of the attic, which shows you an interesting battle scene where
the figures are very heavily outlined as you can see here which is unusual.
Scholars have, have suggested, and I think correctly,
that the reason for that is that these
individuals, these artists in this part of Gaul,
were probably working from copy books or copy scrolls,
I guess I should say.
Drawings of battle scenes, typical Greek or Roman battle
scenes that they could use Helenistic battle scenes perhaps.
They are only Roman battle scenes that they copied and these were drawings.
And consequently, they copied them quite, quite quite
exactly by showing the outlines around the figures.
It's one, it's speculation, but I think it's an interesting
speculation in this very frenzied battle scene from the uppermost part.
With the regard to the date of this monument though, the plot thickens.
Oh, one other detail, if you look at side
of the arch, you see an arcuated element inside.
You can barely see the triangular pediment, but
there's an arcuation inside an unbroken complete triangular pediment.
So that scheme of placing the arcuation also
tends to be a late feature.
However, scholars who spent a lot of time looking
at the sculptural decoration of this monument, of the
piles of arms and armor that one finds there,
which by the way includes piles of arms and
armor from a naval victory, which is interesting, as
well as piles of armor, arms and armor from
victories on land, which has made some scholars speculate
that this refers to a kind of generic victory.
It's a victory on land and sea by whoever this honored.
But, very interesting is the fact that
there is one armament that is inscribed with the name Sacrovir.