Saint-Désir amphitheatre, Roman amphitheatre in Saint-Désir, France.
The Saint-Désir amphitheatre is a Gallo-Roman theatre with an arena, built in the 2nd century in what is now the commune of Saint-Désir, Calvados, 1,800 m west of Lisieux's centre. It is a mixed theatre-amphitheatre type, using the site's topography, with a stream running between the orchestra and the stage wall. The visible remains lie in a broad, shallow grassy depression bordered by trees, with a worn path crossing the grass; no masonry is exposed.
The Gallo-Roman theater of Lisieux was built in the 2nd century, or the 2nd–3rd century, as a mixed theater-amphitheater in the capital of the Lexovii, Noviomagus Lexoviorum. A 2nd-century ceramic shard was found in its mortar. Arcisse de Caumont observed layers of charcoal and black earth, suggesting the partly wooden structure burned; François Cottin places destruction around the mid-second half of the 3rd century, after which the building may have been restored. In the 12th century a farm was built from materials taken from its stage wall.
The site is a mixed theatre-amphitheatre where gladiator fights, hunts with animals and theatrical shows took place, alongside festivals of indigenous tradition. A 12th-century farm was built from stone taken from the stage wall, and the stream that once ran between orchestra and stage wall still crosses the grounds.
The remains lie on the north-western edge of Saint-Désir, about 1,800 m west of Lisieux town centre, along the route du Pré d'Auge and the D45, with the Merderet stream behind the structure. The visible part is a broad grassy hollow crossed by a worn path, with no masonry, seating or walls standing; the ground is uneven and the site is not laid out for visitors.
In the 12th century a farm was built using stone taken from the theatre's stage wall, and the stream that once ran between the orchestra and that wall still crosses the site, canalised and with a lower flow than in antiquity.
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