The fights were major events, announced on billboards and with much fanfare. These fights were a form of entertainment, like spectator sports today, and fights were often to the death, though by no means always. Still, this bit of background should help us better understand the magnificence of what the Romans left behind, some of which I detail below. So if you need more information, I suggest you visit the Encyclopedia Britannica. The Goths, for example, didn't exactly sweep in – but they trickled in over centuries, slowly insinuating themselves into society. Granted, this potted history is all a little simplistic, given that this is a travel blog and not a history lesson. Eventually, 'barbarians', as the Germanic people from the north were called, would sweep in and wipe away as many traces of Rome as they could. This was a prosperous time and the Romans settled, building all the amphitheaters, arenas, triumphal arches and aqueducts we'll visit below. It now sits in the Palazzo Altemps in Rome (part of the National Museum) Since there was no photography in Roman times, we can get a good sense of these invasions from this ancient Roman sarcophagus of around 250 AD, which depicts a battle scene between the Romans and the invading Goths. They also left behind plenty of culture, not to mention Latin, the basis of our language. The Romans didn't just pass by – they were here for more than 500 years and left all sorts of Roman ruins in France: amphorae, mosaics, soaring aqueducts and Roman bridges, as well as roads still used today, like the Via Domitia. Gaul was the Roman name for France when it was a province of Rome because yes, we were not always as fiercely independent as we are today (apart from that little village where Asterix lived, of course). Gallo-Roman history Roman Ruins in France Map Paris and northern France
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