New archaeological finds in Celtic and Roman Switzerland
29 December 2024
Who has not heard of or admired the public buildings, art, utensils (now objects of art), coins, and other finds from the Celtic and Roman periods?
Arab, Iranian and Jewish scholars and later monks saved ancient authors and their writings for posterity before secular scholars, universities and humanists got involved from the 13th century onwards.
The fall of Byzantium, the flight of (Christian) scholars and their writings in 1453, and the Reconquista in Spain (concluded in 1492) made many (unknown) publications accessible in Europe.
Today’s Orbe
However, scientific interest in physical objects from classical antiquity began in the 16th and 17th centuries. In today’s Switzerland, the best-known examples are the organisations Pro Aventico in Avenches (Roman Aventicum) and the Augusta Raurica Foundation in Augst and Kaiseraugst.
In numerous other places, Romans and Romanised Celts (Gallo-Romans) have left their mark, including Lausanne, Geneva (the first Swiss city under Roman rule 122-120 BC), Nyon, Vevey, Martigny, Windisch, Orbe, Bern, Vallon, and Lenzburg. Museums, archaeological sites, and parks tell of this past in Switzerland.
They often do so in connection with the world of the Celtic tribes and Rhaetians in eastern Switzerland. They inhabited the territory of present-day Switzerland centuries before the Roman conquest 15-13 BC. The museum Laténium in Hauterive (canton of Neuchâtel) is a good example of this approach.
Laténium
This Celtic culture and society were undoubtedly not ‘barbarian’, the Romans’ (and Greeks’) designation for foreign peoples. In particular, flooded Celtic pile-dwellings, burial mounds, and other archaeological sites show their societies and (high-level) culture.
Written sources of the Celts, however, are lacking. Only Roman and Greek authors have sporadically paid attention to these tribes. Regarding the Rhaetic tribes in eastern Switzerland, however, they remained silent, and archaeology has not been able to contribute to a better understanding of these peoples so far.
Centuries before the Roman conquest of Switzerland in the 1st century BC, Greek and Roman authors wrote about ‘Keltoi or Celtae’. After all, the Romans suffered major defeats against Celtic tribes and could no longer ignore these ‘barbarians’.
Augusta Raurica, Roman theatre
Moreover, trade contacts between Greeks, Romans and Celts existed centuries before the Roman conquest of (Celtic) Europe. Greeks and Romans had been trading with northern regions for centuries, even as far as the Baltic Sea, which exported especially amber to the Mediterranean.
As written sources and archives are virtually nonexistent, archaeologists, in particular, investigate these contacts. A recent find in Augusta Raurica honours the monkish work of archaeologists. A bronze coin from the 3rd century BC, i.e. during the Roman Republic, was found. These small finds complete the Celtic puzzle even more.
However, the soil harbours many more secrets. Two Roman inscriptions in Augusta Raurica, a well-preserved mosaic in a Roman villa on Rue des Pavés in Avenches, and a Roman army camp in Oberhalstein on the Colm la Runga at an altitude of 2 200 metres in the Crap Res area ( Surses, canton Graubünden) make it clear. The Oberhalstein discovery clarifies the Roman campaign and conquest of Switzerland in 15-13 BC.
Aventicum around 200 AD. Model of the musée romain d’Avenches. Photo: TES.
The Roman era lasted over four centuries and shaped Switzerland linguistically, religiously and culturally. The Romansh, Italian and French languages, Christianity, the use of mountain passes, waterways and trade routes, the emergence of the first (Roman) cities and other ‘ancient‘ heritage characterise the 26 cantons of today’s Confederation.
Thanks to the dedication, skill, and patience of archaeological detectives and funding by the (local) government, the history of Celtic and Roman Switzerland is being unravelled year in and year out.
(Source and further information: Archäologischer Dienst Graubünden, Association Pro Aventico; Stiftung Augusta Raurica)