The naval base opens its doors to a Roman-era treasure
The naval base, a strategic military site, offers guided tours of its archaeological remains from the Roman era.
It is a dive into history as surprising as it is exceptional. Behind the surrounding walls of the largest naval base in France, between stealth frigates and nuclear attack submarines, lies a little-known part of the city's ancient past. The ministère des Armées et des Anciens combattants has officialized the opening to the public, via guided tours, of Roman remains uncovered at the very heart of the arsenal. An initiative that builds a bridge between two thousand years of strategic history, from Roman Telo Martius to the 21st-century deterrent force.
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Visitors, after meeting the security procedures inherent to such a sensitive site, can discover the physical traces of the Roman occupation from the 1st to the 4th century of our era. The excavations, carried out during the modernization projects of the base, revealed ancient port structures, warehouse foundations, fragments of amphorae, and elements of daily life that bear witness to the intense commercial and maritime activity of the port at the time. Archaeologists have identified what could be the remains of a rope factory and workshops for processing murex, the shellfish used to produce the precious purple, a luxury dye in the Roman Empire. These discoveries confirm the importance of Toulon as a strategic and economic outpost on the Méditerranée long before Vauban gave it its modern military face. "Our primary mission remains the defense of the interests of France, but we also have a responsibility in preserving and sharing the national historical heritage located on the lands we are in charge of," explains the base command.
A HERITAGE REVEALED BY MODERN PROJECTS
Most of these remains were discovered as part of preventive archaeology, during earthworks for new infrastructure. Each construction site within the perimeter of the naval base is subject to an archaeological diagnostic in collaboration with institutions like the Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (INRAP). This collaboration between military personnel, engineers, and archaeologists has saved and studied a heritage that, without these precautions, could have been lost. The details for visits are provided via the office de tourisme de la métropole toulonnaise.