In the Roman world, town and country played collective though complementary roles.

Although there was a particular prefence for valleys rich in water, in more desirable areas, Gallo-Roman constructions are to be found in every kind of rural situation.

The way land was organised and divided in the Roman period remains difficult to define. Current research has detected some land patterns around villas or larger areas, but these are hard to date and remain hypothetical.

In contrast, the study of buildings has taught us much about the chronological evolution of dwellings. Several decades after the conquest, the most widespread architectural style in the countryside, remained the indigenous farmhouse. Constructed from perishable materials and surrounded by huge rectangular enclosures ranging from 5,000 - 10,000m², examples have been found at La Pérouille, Chitray, Tendu, Nuret-le-Ferron and Le Pêchereau.

As in other parts of Gaul, the first stone-built houses with tiled roofs, in the Roman style, don't make an appearance in the Argentomagus area until the second half of the 1st century.

The most important villas have complex designs with numerous rooms, often organised around a courtyard. These rural buildings which frequently served as country retreats, didn't want for luxury as can be witnessed by the mosaics discovered in the villa at Le Cony in Malicornay.

Agricultural buildings formed an indispensable counterpart to the residential area of a rural Gallo-Roman villa. Small, simple examples have been discovered at Thenay, Arthon, Chaillac and Maillet. More modestly-sized villas, such as those at Velles or Parnac, comprised one or two buildings subdivided into 3 rooms, eventually provided with an external gallery and a surrounding wall with entry porch.