The archaeological site of the Villasse corresponds to a rich and very active district of the city with its streets, its shops and its thermal complex. Behind this noisy urban scene, large mansions turned on their inner courtyards, testify to a quality of life and a luxury reserved for the well-to-do populations.


The Street of the Shops
This magnificent street is one of the most striking examples of the town planning of Vasio. Consisting of large limestone slabs, arranged irregularly to reduce the jolting of the wheels of the wagons which take it every day, it is an important North-South axis of the city. It was accessed to the east by a broad sidewalk, and to the west by a pedestrian gallery, which we can guess at the columns which supported the floor of the buildings. So, sheltered from the weather and the sun, walkers could make their purchases. Shops are identifiable by their layout and by the grooved threshold used to fix the sales stall. The guests stayed outside, on the way. In the evening, the shops were closed with a shutter. It was through this street that the inhabitants of the ancient city went to the baths. This building is now partially clear: only the great hall and the latrines are visible; The bulk of the building under the current post. Further down, the entrance to the Silver Bust House took place between two shops.


The Silver Bust House
This house owes its name to the discovery of the silver bust of a rich Roman citizen. From the street of the shops to the east, one gained the vestibule then a small peristyle and a room, perhaps the office of the master. Behind, rooms and courtyards aligned, creating a perspective from the noble hall to the portico garden laid out below. To the north of the vestibule were organized the kitchen, its stores and perhaps servile housing. With the western part consisting of a vast garden and a thermal complex, the house reaches the surface of 5 000 m2 on the ground, making it the most imposing of urban houses cleared in Vaison. The thermal complex, intended for baths and physical exercises, was built around 10-20 AD Later, in the course of the 1st century AD, it lost its public character and was integrated into The plan of the house of the Silver Bust. Its facilities had different rooms: users left their clothes in a changing room before taking a bath in the cold room. From there, they reached the warm room and then the warm room with a basin. Both were heated by air circulating in the basement and in the thickness of the walls from a fireplace. Below, a palestra, a vast field of exercises, was decorated with a swimming pool and equipped with latrines.


The Dauphin House
A small marble dolphin found on the spot gave its name to this dwelling which, in the 1st century before our era, was a farm. In the 2nd century AD, its environment was urban. The house, enlarged and embellished, was bordered by streets to the west and north. From the pedestrian way, one entered by a staircase framed by shops. An atrium was used as a vestibule and opened on the desk behind which the private sector of the house was located: the winter dining room, the reception rooms, the seaside ... In the north the latrines were close to the kitchen and Its reserves. The floor had to be reserved for the rooms. To the south, a large garden was spread out with a pond made of fish tank and many plantations