Santons

origins

As of VIIe front century J. - C., the Santons are installed and their chief town would have been the Oppidum of Pons. They make the trade of the salt which they extract in coastal sites maintaining far in the grounds and Merpins close to Cognac was already one of the warehouses along the river.

Very many objects were found on all the territory. Most remarkable is the helmet of Agris (close to Rochefoucauld): covered with gold plates and encrusted with coral, it is visible with the museum of Angouleme.

The cave of Perrats with Agris delivered ceramics, the excavations of Barzan of the ornaments. Weapons dating from - Ve with were found in various places, Agris, Saint-Andre-with-Lidon.

Monuments marked the crowned burials or places: steles in the shape of épointés obelisks were found with Isle-with Espagnac and Roullet-Saint-Estèphe.

Activities

Agricultural tools are found on many sites, grinding stones with grain, balances of Tisserand, crucibles of bronzier. Salt troughs and pillars of furnace mark the activity of saulniers.

By inland waterway, the trade of salt is attested thus that the trade of the wine with handles marked with the seals of Barzan and Courcoury.

Romanized Charente will be crossed by the Via Agrippa Lyon-Holy but also by a North-South way which crosses it close to the theater of Bouchauds. These roads and the river, navigable of the sea to Angouleme, allowed an important trade. Cognac and Jarnac was large ports with warehouses with Merpins, Crouin and Chatenet.

Barzan (the site of Fâ) which was already the seaport of Santons became an important Gallo-Roman harbor city with its public buildings of which Roman Thermes, its warehouses, its temples, its dwellings.

The establishments of reprocessed legionaries are numerous on all the territory (all Coulonges and their characteristic land register). Let us santons then seem to be completely romanized.

late Antiquity

Let us santons are christianized 4th century at the 5th century although according to the legend Saint-Eutrope, bishop and martyr, would have started to christianize the area of Holy front.

Their history is continued as saintongeais

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