The town of Autun, whose name is derived from the Roman "Augustodunum", was founded by the Emperor Augustus as a new capital built along Roman lines for the Aedui.
From the outset Autun had the distinction of being a walled town. Some 6 km in length, the walls constitute the best preserved Augustan enclosure in France. The town still possesses two monumental gates from this period: the partially rebuilt Porte Saint-André in the east, and the Porte d’Arroux with its elegant pilasters in the north.
Mystery is attached to the nearby Temple of Janus for it is not known to whom this natively inspired building is dedicated. But there is nothing mysterious about the Roman Theatre, two-thirds of which survive today. The theatre, the largest in the whole of the western part of the Roman Empire, has taken on a new lease of life in the last ten years. On certain evenings each summer, thousands of people are drawn to its rows of seats and mossy arches to witness the town’s ancient history re-enacted in an epic pageant entitled "Le Voyage de Murcie". Many vestiges of daily life in Augustodunum may be admired at the Rolin Museum (Musée Rolin) in the upper town. Treasures unearthed in the course of excavation work are constantly being added to the Museum’s collection
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