The Roman theater of Montaudou is a performance building built in Gaul, in the city of Arveni, in the present-day commune of Ceyrat in the Puy-de-Dôme département.

While it is now accepted that the theater is not isolated, particularly from probable dwellings and a potential temple with a centered plan, the exact nature of this pole located 1.5 km southwest of Augustonemetum/Clermont-Ferrand is not known, and the hypothesis of a secondary agglomeration independent of the Arverne capital has been put forward.

[5] In 1805, Antoine Delarbre referred to "a temple dedicated to Mercury",[6][7] while mid-century archaeological finds were summarily described by Henri Lecoq and Jean-Baptiste Bouillet.

[9] Auguste Peghoux gave a detailed description around 1850 and also proposed an interpretation as a villa:} This wall, a remnant of a larger construction, remains some forty feet long.

The peasants claim that there are remains of buildings buried in the land around this wall and above it to the right and left: the fact is that on the surface we can see debris of pottery and tiles.

[7]The 20th century did not see a proliferation of descriptions, with the exception of Henri and Emmanuel du Ranquet who, in a guide to the commune of Royat, evoked the many hypotheses linked to this wall and its remains;[10] they did not take sides, however, but referred to the discovery of mosaics, marbles and ceramics.

[9] It was in the middle of this century that Pierre-François Fournier and surveyor J. Vyé visited the site, drew up a plan of the remains, described the masonry precisely and found numerous ceramics.

[7][12] At the end of the same decade or at the beginning of the next, Marie-Christine Pin and Vincent Guichard carried out a topographical survey and once again evoked the stage wall of an ancient theater.

[13] In 2005, as part of the "Atlas topographique d'Augustonemetum"[3] collective research program, Christian Le Barrier carried out a topographical survey of the Saracen wall, as well as two test pits which validated the interpretation of the site as a theater.

[19] The theater's first level is characterized by a diameter of 51 m. Along the cavea, which was only recognized in its northern, heavily eroded section, 0.80 m square buttresses were observed at 3.60 m intervals.

[23][note 1] While Christian Le Barrier remained cautious about this interpretation, not knowing whether this was a temple with a centered plan, a sanctuary in its own right or another building,[2] Hélène Dartevlle was more affirmative: "A fanum has been recognized to the south-west of the theater.

[1] Its history remains unknown and Christian Le Barrier proposes, as an unsubstantiated hypothesis, that the building was the work of a wealthy local evergete, perhaps the owner of the rich villa found nearby in rue Docteur-Lepetit.

[2][1] Florian Baret points out, however, that it is still difficult to grasp the organization of the ancient capital's peripheral space, and that the theater could be part of an independent agglomeration.