Arras to Therouanne

The entire distance (53 kilometres) between Arras and Therouanne is covered on a single alignment. Short realigned segments are used to ascend or descend a steep slope when crossing the valleys along the route. Some of the many very early names along the route are exceptionally well preserved. Few of these earliest names are settlement names. Rivers and other natural features dominate.

Among the settlement names Germanic names predominate. They date from the earliest Frankish settlement wave through to the late Middle Ages. This makes the remaining Gaulish or Gallo Roman settlement names all the more interesting since it is likely that they are old estates, perhaps pre dating the construction of the road.

As long as Roman military command remained effective, few if any settlements would have been allowed near the road. Consequently, the Germanic settlements pose special problems. We should not be looking for a pattern of settlements resulting from conquest and displacement. The pattern today should reflect planned quartering by late Roman authorities with in-filling and growth having taken place over the centuries.

Therouanne being the chief city of the Morinii and Arras that of the Atrebates, the border between their territories must lie somewhere along the route. A good candidate is the valley holding Dieval and Divion. This was a holy stream and holy groves or streams often marked tribal boundaries