part of the Forum, and which became the commercial centre of the city. A market was probably held close (perhaps at the current rue du Marc). The city also had an amphitheatre, a stadium (rue Gosset), an arena (Rue du Mont-d'Arène), thermae, temples and rich villas as witnessed by the mosaics that were found. The city also had its own supply of fresh water from an aqueduct () to the Suippe, a sewage system and a waste dump. Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus founded the bishopric of Reims. Decline of the city during the late Roman Empire The consul Jovinus, an influential supporter of Christianity, repelled the Alamanni who invaded Champagne in 336. In 357 and 366 invasions of Germanic tribes are pushed back before they reach Metropolis Civitas Remorum (Reims) as Durocortorum is called during this period. The city did not have defensive fortifications yet, and the progressively declining Roman Empire did not have sufficient military forces to protect it. At the time the city extended beyond the large Gallo Roman ditch, but the population declined and found refuge within the perimeter delimited by four Roman gates. The enclosure can still be found in the street plan formed by the rue de Talleyrand, rue de Chanzy, rue de Contrai, and the rue des Murs, named after walls that were built during that period, rue Ponsardin, rue Rogier, rue Andrieuz, and the boulevard Désaubeau. On a small hill outside of the city, what is now the "quartier St. Remi", a small borough developed. The defences would not prove sufficient, however. In 406 the Vandals descended on the city and pillaged it. The inhabitants fled to the Christian cathedral, where the bishop Nicasius of Rheims was decapitated on the doorstep while trying to slow them down. In 451 the Huns attacked. Hardly anything is left from this period except some traces of fortifications and the Roman road system that had not been changed. It seems the city was burned down and rebuilt several times, but little can still be found since the inhabitants, much poorer now, used cheap and easy to work but perishable materials such as wood, straw and clay. Archaeology Extensive excavations have been made since the 19th century at city extensions, the new railway station, etc. They have revealed the Roman houses, the gate of Mars, the sanctuary on