Experience Ancient Rome in Augusta Raurica
https://www.augustaraurica.ch/en/
The city was initially founded around 44 B.C. by Lucius Munatius Plancus. However, the turmoil of the Civil Wars following Julius Ceasars murder seem to have delayed the construction of the settlement. It did not commence until around 6 B.C., after Augustus had completed his conquest of the central Alp region. The city lays on a Plateau south of the River Rhine and north of the Jura Mountains. This favourable location near several important trade routes helped the colony grew into a blooming city. At the height of its prosperity, around 250 A.D., the city housed over 10,000 inhabitants. Yet despite all that, few specific details of the colony’s history have survived. The unique value of Augusta Raurica today lies in the extensive archeological park and instructive reconstructions, nestled unexpectedly in the north of Switzerland, that provide an unparalleled look into ancient Roman life.
A Walk through Augusta Raurica
Augusta Raurica was one of the few Roman Cities in modern Europe that escaped being built over during Medieval or modern times. As such, numerous buildings have been excavated and yet only about 20% of the archaeological site have been systematically explored. The many ancient buildings available for visit include:
1. Roman House at Augusta Raurica
2. Many other archeological finds are housed in the site’s beautiful museum complex.
Silver Treasure – Roman Museum – Augusta Raurica – August 2013 , photo by Codrin.B / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Augusta Raurica’s theatre is one of the best sights of the city. Having undergone multiple restoration projects to protect the ancient structure, it has now returned to its original function as an events venue. You can attend a live performance in the same structure that the Romans did two millennia ago.
4. Near the theatre lies a taberna which would have provided snacks and drinks to theatre-goers. A beautifully preserved baking oven is the highlight of the shop.
5. More ovens can be found at the reconstructed remains of the town bakery, where workshops demonstrate the process of mixing and baking bread in the ancient Roman style.
Roman Oven Reenactment – Roman Festival at Augusta Raurica – August 2013 , photo by Codrin.B / Wikimedia Commons , licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
6. On the corner of the forum lie the remains of the town basilica, including a retaining wall of an earlier construction and the larger, two meter thick wall of the later building.
Picswiss BL-44-17, photo by Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim (Commons:Picswiss project) , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
7. The stone town hall, or curia, remains visible today.
Augusta Raurica, Switzerland ,photo by – Augusta Raurica, Switzerland Uploaded by Marcus Cyron , licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
8. Foundations of the town baths are brought to life with a detailed backdrop
9. The amphitheatre – although it retains only modest remains, the footprint is well-established.
Augusta Raurica, Switzerland (9226315174), photo by – Augusta Raurica, Switzerland Uploaded by Marcus Cyron , licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0
10. Remnants of the aqueduct just outside the city walls (close to the modern town of Pratteln) that funneled into the town’s water supply system
Water supply in Augusta Raurica, photo by – Own work, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
The above is only a smattering of the archeological sites available to see and explore at Augusta Raurica. Even from that list, one can see that the site obviously has a commitment to a deeply experiential view of roman Antiquity, and this is taken even further in Augusta Raurica’s fully reconstructed Roman House. Inspired by the townhouses excavated at Pompei, the house is a masterful representation of everyday life. For anyone wishing they could close their eyes and spend a day back in ancient Rome, this is your antidote!
Farewell to Augusta Raurica
Despite its success, the colony at Augusta Raurica was not immune to larger world influences. Struggles and Instability within the roman empire as well as the rising threat posed by Germanic tribes pushed the city into a decline towards the end of the 3rd century A.D. It remained a market town and administrative center for another hundred years, but as the city of Basle began to grow, Augusta Raurica was eclipsed and eventually reverted back to a small fishing village before being abandoned during the middle ages. However, its abandonment has left its archeological treasures largely undamaged for the enjoyment of modern visitors.
What to See Here?
Cubiculum Diurnum – Roman House – Augusta Raurica – August 2013-012, photo by Codrin.B / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
The impressive ruins of Augusta Raurica are protected today in an open-air museum near the modern villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst, east of Basel. Having largely escaped medieval or modern redevelopment, Augusta Raurica is generally considered the best-preserved Roman city north of the Alps. Several structures have survived in a remarkably intact state. Of particular note are the main forum, which includes a reconstructed front of the Temple of Jupiter and a basilica, and the theatre, which was the largest such edifice north of the Alps, with a seating capacity of up to 10,000. Also of interest are the bath house, an amphitheatre, the walls of the later Castrum Rauracense, and the remains of a taberna and other commercial premises
Finds from the colony may be seen at the Roman Museum, which currently houses an exhibition about childhood in Antiquity as well as the permanent exhibition of the famous silver Treasure of Kaiseraugst. Highlights here include a reconstructed house illustrating the daily life of ordinary Roman citizens and a hoard of silver known as the Silver Treasure of Kaiseraugst.
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