Fortunately, these statues, which are remarkable for their natural expression and vigour were removed to a place of safety before the house was destroyed.
Thanks to a public subscription, the town was able to acquire them shortly before the war, thus preventing them from being sold abroad.
The cellars of this house are curious, but there exists no proof that they date back, as has been said, to the Roman period.
[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY DOORWAY, 22 RUE DE TAMBOUR]
The adjoining house (No. 22) is 14th century, and probably dates back to about the end of the reign of Philippe-le-Bel. Its front has been greatly spoilt, but still contains a fine door surmounted by an elliptical arch (_photo above_).
At No. 13 of this street, two 13th century carved heads, one of a man and the other of a woman wearing one of the mortar-shaped hats in fashion until the end of the reign of St. Louis, have been built into the façade.
_At the end of the Rue de Tambour, take the Rue de Mars, on the right of the Hôtel-de-Ville, at the end of which, on the left, stands the Triumphal Arch of the_ =Mars Gate=.
[Illustration: THE RUE DE MARS. THE TOWN HALL IS ON THE LEFT]
[Illustration: 18TH CENTURY ENGRAVING BY COLLIN OF THE VAULTING OF THE ROMULUS AND REMUS ARCADE OF THE MARS GATE _In the centre: Romulus and Remus suckled by the she-wolf._]
This monument was long believed to be a Roman =gate=--hence its name--although the ornamentation of its four sides proves that it cannot originally have been connected with the ramparts. It was only in the Middle Ages that it was included in the fortified castle (_photo, p. 6_) built by the archbishops a few steps to the rear. About 1334 its arcades were walled up, while towards 1554 it was buried under a mass of rubbish during the building of the fortifications. Partly disinterred in 1594, when the archbishops' castle was pulled down, it was not completely cleared until 1816-1817. Restored, then classed as an _historical monument_ (thanks to Prosper Mérimée), it is one of the largest Roman structures remaining in France. Forty-four feet high, one hundred and eight wide, and sixteen thick, it was really a triumphal arch built on the Cæsarean Way at the entrance to the town, probably in the 4th century. It comprises three arches separated by fluted Corinthian columns which support the entablature. On the two main façades between the columns are carved medallions and niches which have lost their statues. The vaulting of the arches is divided into sunken panels, the carving of which is mostly in a good state of preservation. Under the eastern arch _Romulus and Remus_ are seen suckled by the she-wolf. Under the middle arch, the twelve months of the year, represented by persons (five of whom have been destroyed), occupied in the labours of the four seasons, surround Abundance and Fortune. Under the western arch Love is seen descending from the sky above Leda and the Swan.