Augusta Raurica

Coordinates: 47°32′2″N 7°43′17″E / 47.53389°N 7.72139°E / 47.53389; 7.72139
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Augusta Raurica
The Roman theatre in Augusta Raurica
Augusta Raurica is located in Switzerland
Augusta Raurica
Shown within Switzerland
Alternative nameColonia Augusta Rauracorum
LocationAugst, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland
RegionGermania Superior
Coordinates47°32′2″N 7°43′17″E / 47.53389°N 7.72139°E / 47.53389; 7.72139
TypeSettlement
History
BuilderLucius Munatius Plancus
FoundedAround 44 BC
AbandonedAround 260 AD
PeriodsRoman Republic to Roman Empire
Site notes
Websiteaugustaraurica.ch

Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst. It is the site of the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine.

Founding

A statue of Plancus, the city's founder, in the city hall of Basel, Switzerland.

Augusta Raurica, or Colonia Augusta Rauracorum, was

Gallic tribe, the Rauraci, relatives of the Helvetii. No archaeological evidence from this period has yet been found, leading to the conclusion that, either the settlement of the colony was disturbed by the civil war following the death of Julius Caesar
, or that Plancus' colony was actually in the area of modern Basel, not Augst.

Successful colonization of the site had to wait for

conquest of the central Alps around 15 BC. The oldest find to date at Augusta Raurica has been dated to 6 BC by dendrochronology
.

Name

Gravestone from Cirencester for a civis Rauricus.

The inscription on Munatius Plancus' grave merely states the name of the colony as Colonia Raurica. A fragmentary inscription from the Augustinian period speaks of the Colonia P[aterna] (?) M[unatia] (?) [Felix] (?) [Apolli]naris [Augusta E]merita [Raur]ica (letters in brackets are reconstructions). Apart from this fragmentary reference, the first certain witness to the use of the name Augustus comes from the geographer Ptolemy in the Ancient Greek form Augústa Rauríkon (lat. Augusta Rauricorum).

Augusta Raurica played an important role in Augustus' plans of conquest with two other colonies that bear his name:

Augusta Vindelicum (modern Augsburg, an outpost on the Danube). These three Augustae form the corners of a triangle that reaches across the alpine conquests of Augustus, the long base of which form the Rhine knee to the Danube formed the frontier against unconquered Germania
.

Layout of the settlement

Augusta Raurica around 240 AD

During

castrum
, or military fortification. The city is, therefore, well-defended by steep slopes to the north, east, and west.

Temple at Augusta Raurica

The next step in planning the city was the

columns
.

Borders

Augusta Raurica and Vindonissa in the 4th century

The limits of Colonia Raurica can no longer be determined with absolute accuracy. However, the approximate boundaries can be established by examining the extent of Augst in the

Neuallschwil, show that such a post did exist on the main road north (toward Blotzheim) into Alsace. The Colonia Raurica, on the whole, contained the modern Canton of Basel, the Frick valley, and the eastern Jura Mountains of the Canton of Solothurn
. The total area of the colony was around 700 km2.

Subsequent history

Remains of amphitheatre at Augusta Raurica

By the 2nd century AD, Augusta Raurica was a prosperous commercial trading centre and, in its glory days, the capital of a local

public baths and the largest Roman theatre
north of the Alps, with 8,000 to 10,000 seats. Many of these sites are open to visitors year-round.

Castrum Rauracense

In 250 AD, a powerful earthquake damaged a large part of the city. Shortly after, around 260 AD,

castrum. These two settlements form the centers of the modern communities of Augst and Kaiseraugst
.

In 1442, these communities were divided along the

Habsburg territories and, to differentiate between the two towns, was renamed Kaiseraugst. Kaiseraugst became part of Switzerland in 1803 after the defeat of the Habsburgs during the Napoleonic Wars
.

Augusta Raurica today

Basilica at Augusta Raurica

The excavation site and the late Roman castle, the Castrum Rauracense, are listed as

heritage sites of national significance, as are the early Christian baptisterium and the brick kiln at Liebrüti.[2]

Excavations

Many of the Roman buildings have been discovered and conserved through excavations, and most are open to the public:

Several private commercial buildings also have been found (a

medieval
or modern times.

Museum and Roman house

Silver treasure of Kaiseraugst

The

Roman house
, with artifacts and reconstructions showing daily domestic and commercial life from the Roman period.

See also

References

  1. ^ ""Wiederentdeckt" - Basilius Amerbach erforscht das Theater von Augusta Raurica". infoclio.ch (in German). 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
    (1995), p. 39.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Augusta Raurica.
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