17 May 2024
It is hard to imagine today, but the villages of Augst (canton Basel-Landschaft) and Kaiseraugst (canton Aargau) formed the largest conglomerate in the territory of present-day Switzerland in Roman times. At the time, the two other major cities were Aventicum (Avenches) and Colonia Iulia Equestris (Nyon) in the present-day canton of Waadt. Augst and Kaiseraugst … Read more » “The Castrum Rauracense in Kaiseraugst”
26 January 2024
During the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), Martigny, a small village of the Celtic tribe of the Veragres, was turned into a Roman city. When he became emperor, he conquered Britain. He made the most direct route to Britain accessible, the Great St Bernard Pass, and reorganised the Valais. The capital was a newly … Read more » “The amphitheatre and (Roman) history of Martigny”
11 December 2022
The approximately 400-kilometer road follows the course of the old Via Romana, which connected the Roman legionnaire’s camp Vindonissa (Windisch, canton Aargau, Switzerland) with the settlement Grinario (Köngen, near Stuttgart, Germany). This road is also shown on the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient Roman road map. The original map is lost, but a medieval copy shows … Read more » “The Ancient Via Romana is a Road without Borders.”
19 July 2022
Situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lacus Lemanus, the small gallo-roman settlement of Lousonna, boasted 1500 to 1200 inhabitants, mostly merchants, fishermen and artisans. Its commercial prosperity was due to the privileged situation between the lake and overland routes connecting the Rhine and Rhone networks. From the end of the 1st century BC through … Read more » “Lousonna and Lausanne”
4 July 2022
Julius Caesar’s Book de Bello Gallico (100-44 BC) tells the story of the migration of some Celtic tribes (Helvetii, Rauraci, and others) to eastern France in 58 BC. Far less known outside Switzerland is the history of their defeat in that year at Bibracte and their return to their homelands in Switzerland. Two colonies were … Read more » “The Roman History of Avenches”
2 May 2022
In December 2021, an amphitheatre was discovered during a building survey in Kaiseraugst (canton Aargau), near the museum Augusta Raurica (Augst, Canton of Basel-Landschaft). The amphitheatre is the second amphitheatre in the canton of Aargau, after the one in Vindonissa (Windisch). In Augusta Raurica, it is already the third monument of its kind, although its … Read more » “The Amphitheatre of Kaiseraugst”
21 April 2022
Available in German and Dutch
13 April 2022
The name Celts was written down by Greek and Roman authors (Galatoi, Keltoi, Galli, Celtae). These tribes inhabited a large part of the European continent, Ireland and the British Isles. However, they have never had political unity. Their economic activities consisted mainly of agriculture, handicrafts, trade and cattle breeding. The period of the pre-Roman Iron … Read more » “The Celts in Switzerland”
13 December 2021
After Julius Caesar’s (100 -44 BC) victory over the Celtic leader Vercingetorix at Alesia in 52 B.C., Rome ruled Gaul, which is more or less present-day France. The Roman Republic also directly influenced the western and northwestern parts of Switzerland. The Celtic tribes in this region were allies (foederati) after the battle of Bibracte in … Read more » “Basilia, the Roman vicus without a name”
4 December 2021
Around one thousand pile dwellings are known in six countries (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia). A project by UNESCO comprises a selection of 111 archaeological pile dwelling sites. The project shows the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements dating from 5,000 to 500 BC: these are merely situated underwater, on lake shores, along rivers … Read more » “Pile Dwellings in Switzerland”
