Send Gift Baskets to Angouleme, France

Before the Roman period, the city had little known history: it is known that the plateau was occupied by an oppidum, traces of which were discovered in the Saint-Martial cemetery under the name Iculisma. The currency of the country was the Lemovice.

The poet Ausonius considered the town small because it was not located on any major roads. While no Roman monuments have been found, it benefited from the Pax Romana and trade on the river. There was a prosperous time in the town during the Roman Empire. The rocky promontory commanded a strategic position at 80 meters (260 feet) above the Charente and 60 meters (200 feet) above the Anguienne. During the end of the Roman Empire, it became the capital of a civitas (at the end of the 3rd or 4th centuries). It was maintained until the 13th century that the Bas-Empire rampart surrounded 27 hectares of land. Bordeaux, Saintes, Poitiers, Limoges, and Périgueux were connected to the town via the Roman road network.

Many years passed before Haut-Empire became known. Recent excavations have revealed the Roman city’s power. Water table levels were very high in early times, as evidenced by a well dug in the earlier eras. The courthouse has a large thermal spa complex usually related to water supply through an aqueduct.

In the 3rd century, Saint Ausone of Angoulême became the first bishop of Angoulême. The establishment of a County in the 6th century, under the guidance of Turpion (or Turpin) (839–863), greatly enhanced the administrative importance of the city. However, the town was permanently attached to the various kingdoms of Aquitaine and was linked to the Frankish kingdom when Pepin the Short defeated Hunald II in 768. Archaeologists discovered a prehistoric stone with engravings of horses and other animals near Angoulême station in June 2019. Around 12,000 years old, the Palaeolithic stone plate is believed to be.