Cessero
Situated on the right bank of the Hérault ca. 10 km from the mouth of the river, this settlement owed its prosperity chiefly to the fact that it stood at a crossroads. From the 7th to the 1st c. B.C. it was a simple oppidum built on a level stretch of basalt overlooking the river, which was crossed here by the road to Spain. After the Roman conquest a road station was set up at the foot of the hill on the same road, now rebuilt by Domitian at the point where, according to Ptolemy (55.10.6), it was met by another road leading to Lodève (Luteva) and Rodez (Segodunum). Mentioned in the Peutinger Table, the road itineraries, and the Apollinarian traveling cups, the mansio probably became an important center; Pliny ranks it among the oppida Latina.
Sporadic excavations on the oppidum summit (100 m each side) have revealed the remains of a rampart of medium-sized stones, a short section of which shows Greek influence, and some huts of dry stone that can be dated by Ionian and Attic imported wares. The post continued to be occupied after the creation of the statio. This latter is probably covered by the present-day settlement and no conclusive traces of it have yet been found. The path of the Via Domitia, at least, has been clearly established: the road crossed the Hérault downstream from Saint-Thibéry at the point where a mediaeval bridge with a flattened arch, once thought to be Roman, stands today.
BIBLIOGRAPHYJ. Coulouma & G. Claustres, “L'oppidum de Cessero, près de Saint-Thibéry,” Gallia 2 (1943) 8-18.
Y. SOLIER