Finds from a 1st century CE Roman villa and military fortress at the Roman Museum of Lausanne-Vidy, Switzerland

Finds from a 1st century CE Roman villa and military fortress at the Roman Museum of Lausanne-Vidy, Switzerland.
The city of Lausanne, Switzerland began as a Roman military camp known as Lausodunon constructed in the 1st century BCE on the shores of Lake Geneva (then known as Lacus Lemannus) atop a previous Celtic settlement. By the 2nd century CE its collection of merchants, fishermen and artisans became known as vikanorum Lousonnesium. By 400 CE, the community had grown to the point it achieved the status of civitas Lausanna. In 1934 the remains of a sumptuous Roman domus were discovered and excavations began. Finds from the excavations are now housed in the Musée Romain Lausanne-Vidy opened to the public in 1993. Objects on display include coins, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, and domestic tools as well as models of Roman structures that once existed at the site. Visitors can also explore the well of the atrium and a painted portion of the Roman house visible on the ground floor of the museum. Another well and ancient walls can be found in the gardens surrounding the museum.


Image: Bronze applique of a sacrificial bull and Roman priest © Musée romaine de Lausanne-Vidy

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