Caesar mentioned a Gallic oppidum (city fortified with walls) in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico. Located 1.9 miles (3 km) southwest of Lisieux, it was fortified and extended over 495 acres (200 ha), making it the capital of the Lexovii. Later known as Noviomagus Lexoviorum in the 4th century, an important Roman castrum was built there in 275. The Archaeological Garden of the Hospital shows remains of thermal baths and a rich Gallo-Roman villa found in 1980.