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29-536: Augusta Raurica, or Colonia Augusta Rauracorum , was founded by Lucius Munatius Plancus around 44 BC in the vicinity of a local 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

58-562: A kind of garrison. There were two types: After 133 BC tribunes introduced reforms to support the urban poor to become farmers again in new colonies as agricultural settlements (e.g. Tarentum in 122 BC). Under Caesar and in the Imperial era starting from Augustus , thousands of Roman legionary veterans were granted lands in many coloniae in the empire and were responsible for the Romanization of many territories (mainly in

87-507: A large scale until the inception of the Principate. Augustus , who needed to settle over a hundred thousand of his veterans after the end of his civil wars , began a massive colony creation program throughout his empire. However, not all colonies were new cities. Many were created from already-occupied settlements and the process of colonization just expanded them. Some of these colonies would later grow into large cities (modern day Cologne

116-547: A potential reserve of veterans which could be called upon during times of emergency. However, these colonies more importantly served to produce future Roman citizens and therefore recruits to the Roman army . Roman colonies played a major role in the spread of the Latin language within the central and southern Italian peninsula during the early empire. The colonies showed surrounding native populations an example of Roman life. Since

145-473: A solid bed of gravel and flanked by gutters on both sides. The more important roads featured covered sidewalks behind rows of columns . 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 Early Middle Ages . This would seem to indicate the colony extended from Basel toward

174-691: 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 Praetoria (modern Aosta at

203-568: The Ergolz and Violenbach  [ de ] rivers. The western portion was given to Basel, which became a canton of Switzerland in 1501. From 1588, Basilius Amerbach , assisted by the painter Hans Bock , documented the rediscovery of the Roman settlement. In 1833, Augst became part of the Canton of Basel-Land . The eastern part became part of Habsburg territories and, to differentiate between

232-608: The Roman Empire . The city possessed the typical amenities of a Roman city, an amphitheatre , a main forum , several smaller forums, an aqueduct , a variety of temples , several 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. In 250 AD, a powerful earthquake damaged a large part of the city. Shortly after, around 260 AD, Alemanni tribes and/or marauding Roman troops destroyed

261-576: The Thiersteinberg below Frick forming the eastern boundary. The western boundary, was near the mouth of the Birs, possibly marked by a border station. Early Roman cremation remains, found in 1937 by the church in 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 ,

290-522: The Frick valley, and the eastern Jura Mountains of the Canton of Solothurn . The total area of the colony was around 700 km. By the 2nd century AD, Augusta Raurica was a prosperous commercial trading centre and, in its glory days, the capital of a local Roman province . It is estimated that the population reached approximately 20,000 people. Augusta Raurica prospered between the 1st and 3rd centuries, and exported smoked pork and bacon to other parts of

319-496: The Roman city and presents the history of Augusta Raurica. In the museum, visitors will often find special exhibits, as well as the most significant archaeological find at Augusta Raurica: the silver treasure of Kaiseraugst . This treasure hoard was found in the fortress in 1961–1962, and it is presumed to have once been the property of a commander. The museum also has a reconstruction of a Roman house , with artifacts and reconstructions showing daily domestic and commercial life from

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348-556: The Roman period. Colonia (Roman) A Roman colonia ( pl. : coloniae ) was originally a settlement of Roman citizens , establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term " colony ". Under the Roman Republic , which had no standing army , their own citizens were planted in conquered towns as

377-680: The capital of the canton of Jura, it joins the Sorne and the Scheulte . Between Soyhières and Liesberg , it leaves the French-speaking part of Switzerland, enters the canton of Basel-Landschaft and receives the Lützel from the left. In Laufen it forms a waterfall, which was the source of power and of the name of the city. At the gorge of Angenstein , the river runs into the Birseck ,

406-451: The city. The Romans attempted to maintain their military position by building a fortress on the Rhine, Castrum Rauracense , the walls of which are still partly intact. Augusta Raurica was resettled on a much smaller scale on the site of the castrum . These two settlements form the centers of the modern communities of Augst and Kaiseraugst . In 1442, these communities were divided along

435-646: The end of the Punic Wars , colonies were primarily military in purpose, being intended to defend Roman territory. The first Roman colony outside Italy was probably Italica in Hispania founded in 206 BC by Publius Cornelius Scipio during the Second Carthaginian War . In the Empire colonies became large centres for the settlement of army veterans, especially in Roman north Africa which had

464-971: The largest density of Roman colonies per region in the Roman Empire, where the Italic population constituted more than one third of the total population during the second century AD. New bilateral defence contracts with Falerii, Tarquinii (Etruria) Caere (again), Pomptina and Poplilia tribus (tribes) formed in territories of Antium New Roman municipia made from small towns around Rome: Aricia, Lanuvium, Nomentum, Pedum , Tusculum. Latin ius contracts made with Tibur , Praeneste, Lavinium , Cora (Latium) Ius comercii contracts made with Circei , Notba, Setia , Signia , Nepi , Ardea , Gabii Ius migrationi and ius connubii Ufentina tribus established (on territories of Volscus city Antium), Privernum , Velitrae , Terracia , Fondi and Fotmiae made contract with Rome (cives sine suffragio) Colonies were not founded on

493-466: The lowland by Aesch . Between Aesch and Dornach , the Birs is rich in fresh-water crabs, the native species of which are now threatened by the American red crab. Earlier, the Birs was polluted and dammed, but it has largely been restored to its original state. The Reinacherheide is a wildlife preserve with 83 species of bird. The mouth of the Birs was hardly settled until the 18th century. Today,

522-581: The most important river of the Swiss Jura . The Birs has its source in a spring near the Col de Pierre Pertuis at 762 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level a little southwest of Tavannes in the Jura bernois . It starts as a proper river; the large amount of water is the product of an extended underground river system. The Birs runs through wider valleys (Vallée de Tavannes) and narrow gorges. Near Delémont ,

551-783: The mouth of the Aare , then up the Aare to the mouth of the Sigger below Solothurn , across to the Lüssel , and then back down the Birs to Basel, though this is still conjecture. New research, based on tiles stamped with the mark of the Vindonissa Legion , indicates some administrative dependence on Vindonissa. This would indicate that the colony reached over the Bözberg toward Frick , with

580-425: The north, east, and west. The next step in planning the city was the surveying of the area according to the architect 's plans for the city. Every important public building had its specific place, starting with the temple of Jupiter as the sacred high point from which the street network would spread. The architect, who was responsible for executing the plans for the city, next laid a longitudinal axis across

609-459: The public: Several private commercial buildings also have been found (a taberna , a bakery , a potter , and a tile kiln ), as well as portions of a sewer. Around 80% of the built-up area has yet to be excavated. Augusta Raurica is the best-preserved Roman city north of the Alps that has not been built-over in medieval or modern times. The Roman Museum houses the most important finds from

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638-632: The southern end of the Great Saint Bernard Pass ) and 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 . During excavations it was determined that the city

667-495: The spread of Latin language and of Roman laws and customs ). According to Livy , Rome's first colonies were established in about 752 BC at Antemnae and Crustumerium , both in Latium . Other early colonies were established at Signia in the 6th century BC, Velitrae and Norba in the 5th century BC, and Ostia , Antium , and Tarracina in the late 4th century. In this first period of colonisation, which lasted down to

696-403: The triangle 36˚ west of north to form the main street of the settlement. Other longitudinal streets were laid out parallel to the main street at intervals of 55 meters. The main street was then divided into sections of 66 meters (255 Roman feet ), which formed the corners of 10 crossing streets . This created a series of rectangular blocks of around 50 by 60 meters. The streets were laid on

725-655: The two towns, was renamed Kaiseraugst. Kaiseraugst became part of Switzerland in 1803 after the defeat of the Habsburgs during the Napoleonic Wars . 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. Many of the Roman buildings have been discovered and conserved through excavations, and most are open to

754-461: The veterans settled there were usually single until discharge and married local women, colonies tended to become culturally integrated in their surroundings within a few generations. Birs The Birs (French: Birse ) is a 73-kilometre (45 mi) long river in Switzerland that flows through the Jura region and ends as a tributary to the Rhine between Basel and Birsfelden . It is

783-491: Was actually in the area of modern Basel, not Augst. Successful colonization of the site had to wait for Augustus ' conquest of the central Alps around 15 BC. The oldest find to date at Augusta Raurica has been dated to 6 BC by dendrochronology . 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

812-528: Was first founded as a Roman colony). During this time, provincial cities can gain the rank of colony, gaining certain rights and privileges. After the era of the Severan emperors the new "colonies" were only cities that were granted a status (often of tax exemption), and in most cases during the Late Imperial times there was no more settlement of retired legionaries. Roman colonies sometimes served as

841-508: Was founded on a high plateau just south of the Rhine river. Two small rivers, the Ergolz and Violen, have carved a triangle in the plateau, the base of which is about 1 kilometer wide along the base of the Jura Mountains , and the apex points northward toward the Rhine, about 1 kilometer from the base. This point is the site of the Roman castrum , or military fortification. The city is, therefore, well-defended by steep slopes to

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