Porte Noire

The Porte Noire (literally, "Black Gate") is a Roman triumphal arch in Besançon, France [1]. The limestone arch was located at the southern end of the cardo, the main north-to-south route of a Roman city [1]. It measured 5.6 metres in width and 11.2 metres in height, and its two facades were identical, of which the northern one is the better preserved [1]. The arch lacks a dedication, but research has dated it to the second half of the second century AD, and the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius [1]. Under the Merovingian dynasty, the arch was used as fortifications [1]. Originally brightly coloured, the arch was blackened by centuries of fire and has been known by its current name since the 11th century [1].