The third study area focuses on the alluvial terraces of the Arroux opposite the modern village of Laizy, some 10km from Autun and 12km from Mont Beuvray. On the right bank of the river, the floodplain and lower terrace extend for roughly 500m and are noticeably marshy in places, after which the ground rises to the west onto the upper terrace (Fx), which in turn gives way to rolling granitic hills (G2) and permian sandstones (r1a). At the southern end of Area 3, the Bussy makes its confluence with the Arroux (Fig. 47). In the low ground south of Laizy are the remains of the medieval castle of Chazeu, while close to the Bussy stream is an old water mill. The Arroux is fordable at Laizy, another long-established crossing point, and now the first bridge downstream from Autun.
The main Roman road from Autun to Etang-sur-Arroux and Toulon-sur-Arroux followed the left bank of the Arroux, but it is possible that a secondary route forked off the Bourbon-Lancy road and ran through the study area, either along the higher ground away from the Arroux - the route now taken by the RD 994 - or just to the west. As in Area 2, Niaux had reported a scatter of finds along the gas pipeline - here following the low ground close to the river - particularly in the vicinity of the castle of Chazeu.
Work in Area 3 concentrated on the area near the river, although a small number of fields were investigated on the rising ground beside the RD 994. In all, 26.47 ha were fieldwalked, 35.91 ha covered by gradiometry and 0.72 ha by resistivity, amounting to 59.32 ha in total. Area 3 covered just less than 7.50km²; fieldwork was mainly confined to the alluvial area between the right bank of the Arroux and the RD 994.
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URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue25/3/5.3.html
Last updated: Wed Oct 29 2008