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”
27 January 2024
From 80 AD, parts of the area on the right bank of the Rhine also belonged to the Roman Empire. The road network played a decisive role in controlling and administering the empire, as well as military transport and trade. There was also an extensive and well-functioning postal network. About 80,000 kilometres of long-distance roads … Read more » “The Roman bridges of Augusta Raurica”
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”
30 January 2023
Roman road and bridge builders were skilled and versatile. Their construction of roads and bridges was well thought out and optimally adapted to local conditions. Their technical capabilities and surveying are still amazing today. Many modern European bridges and roads are in worse condition after only 80 years! Whenever possible, roads were built in a … Read more » “Roman Roads and Bridges in Switzerland”
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.”
29 November 2022
Underneath a Roman necropolis with 311 graves in Yverdon-Les-Bains (Eburodunum in Roman times), excavations revealed numerous remains, such as earthen and wooden buildings from the beginning of our era and the masonry foundations of a later cellar. Two tiny ivory dolls were also found. They are related to the first models that appeared in Rome. … Read more » “Two Ivory Dolls and Romanisation”
21 July 2022
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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
The Celts 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. The … 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”
