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The periphery of the Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst) during Late Antiquity: Initial synthesis

La périphérie du Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst) durant l’Antiquité tardive : synthèse préliminaire
Jakob Baerlocher et Anna Flückiger
Traduction(s) :
La périphérie du Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst) durant l’Antiquité tardive : synthèse préliminaire [fr]

Résumés

Ces dernières années, de nombreuses découvertes portant sur l’habitat civil en relation avec le fortin Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst, canton d’Argovie, Suisse) ont été faites. En premier lieu, la fouille 2008.003 du site DH Implenia, Mühlegasse, situé à la périphérie sud-ouest de la fortification, a mis en évidence de manière exemplaire une continuité d’habitat se prolongeant jusqu’au ve s. apr. J.-C. Grâce au pendage du terrain se superposant à une carrière exploitée durant la période impériale, la stratigraphie de l’habitat romain tardo-antique a été préservée à cet endroit. Les études géoarchéologiques, les trouvailles de pièces de monnaie ainsi que l’analyse de larges ensembles d’objets permettent une interprétation fine des bâtiments et des différentes couches. Des fouilles récentes entreprises sur des terrains situés au sud et sud-ouest du castrum ont permis d’obtenir une image plus précise de la topographie de l’habitat romain tardo-antique. Des fumoirs et séchoirs ainsi que des restes osseux d’animaux découverts dans ces contextes indiquent que des activités liées à la transformation de denrées y ont eu lieu. Mis en relation avec de nombreuses autres découvertes tardo-antiques, ces indices témoignent d’une densité importante de l’habitat entre le ive et le ve s. apr. J.-C. En revanche, à bien des égards, la nature de ces habitats reste difficile à caractériser. Plusieurs constructions légères y ont été attestées et plusieurs systèmes de chauffage à canaux documentés dans les zones périphériques attestent de la présence de bâtiments résidentiels sophistiqués. Un édifice maçonné découvert récemment dans la partie sud-ouest du castrum était équipé d’un système de chauffage à canaux, qui a livré de nombreuses briques portant les estampilles de la légion romaine tardo-antique legio I Martia. La question se pose alors de savoir si ce bâtiment avait une fonction publique. La découverte inattendue d’un amphithéâtre romain datant de l’Antiquité tardive à proximité immédiate du castrum met en évidence le caractère polyvalent des environs de la fortification. Dans cet article, l’état actuel des recherches concernant les zones périurbaines du Castrum Rauracense est présenté. Les relations entre le castrum, sa périphérie et ses habitants sont plus particulièrement interrogées.

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Introduction

  • 1 This article is based on the presentation on the current state of research into the suburbium of Ka (...)

1The Roman fort of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst, canton of Aargau) is located in north-western Switzerland, around 17 km east of Basel, directly on the Upper Rhine.1 In late Roman times this area was part of the province of Sequania/Maxima Sequanorum (Hächler et al. 2020, pp. 156–159). The castrum was built between 290 and 300 AD in the so called lower town, a part of the then abandoned imperial colonia of Augusta Raurica (fig. 1) (Peter 2001, pp. 155–161; Berger 2012, pp. 26–27 and p. 317; Hächler et al. 2020, p. 130).

Fig. 1 – General plan of Augst/Augusta Raurica (canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland) and Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland): upper and lower town, the fortifications at Kastelen and the castrum as well as the location of the cemeteries and the road network

Fig. 1 – General plan of Augst/Augusta Raurica (canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland) and Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland): upper and lower town, the fortifications at Kastelen and the castrum as well as the location of the cemeteries and the road network

CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).

History of research into Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense

  • 2 For the reconstruction of the castrum towers, see also Baerlocher 2020, pp. 85–87 with reference to (...)
  • 3 On praetoria in general, see Schäfer 2014. An obvious parallel is the late Roman praetorium on the (...)

2The castrum had a rectangular ground plan and its internal area was enclosed. It has an internal area of 3.5 ha., making it the largest late Roman fortress in modern-day Switzerland (fig. 2) (Hächler et al. 2020, p. 128). It was enclosed by a wall up to 4.0 m thick in places, with a total of 20 known towers placed at regular intervals. The towers were polygonal.2 There is evidence of a gate on each of the four sides to the south, west, north and east (Berger 2012, pp. 320–321). Whereas the south and west gates are relatively well known thanks to excavations (Tomašević-Buck 1980, pp. 32–35), the locations of the north and east gates were not accurately known for a long time. The east gate was only located more precisely in 2019 (Baerlocher 2020, pp. 77–87). The exact location of the north gate is still unclear and can only be roughly estimated on the basis of some building remains discovered in the 1960s and the layout course of Castrum Street (Berger 2012, pp. 320–321). The fort was surrounded by a defensive V-shaped ditch up to 15 m. wide, which has been confirmed in front of the south and east walls (Baerlocher 2019, pp. 102–104; 2020, pp. 71–75; Signer 2021, pp. 101–104, fig. 59). In the north, the steep bank sloping down to the Rhine may have functioned as such a defence. In the west, the defensive ditch is only documented south of the west gate (Freitag 2018, p. 133). To the north of this, a ditch was probably no longer necessary as there was a depression in the area of an abandoned quarry (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 199–200). The interior of the fort was divided into four quadrants by the east-west oriented Constantius II Street and the north-south oriented Castrum Street. While the internal development of the northwestern and southwestern quadrants is relatively well known thanks to numerous excavations, the layout of the two eastern quadrants is far less clear. Almost the entire northwestern quadrant was occupied by an extensive building complex, which includes a thermal bath complex and numerous, often heated rooms and which was rebuilt several times (Berger 2012, p. 329; Pfammatter, Sütterlin 2015, pp. 153–169; Grezet 2021, p. 141). The plan of this building complex is reminiscent of governors’ residences such as the praetoria of Cologne (Germany) or Budapest (Hungary).3 A horreum and several hall-like buildings have been found in the southwestern quadrant (Berger 2012, pp. 329–330; Grezet 2021, pp. 141–143). There is an apsidal building documented in the northeastern quadrant, erected after 350 AD, which was used as a church from the end of the 4th c. AD at the latest (Berger 2012, p. 337; Faccani 2012, p. 79, more cautious on p. 188; Grezet 2021, pp. 146–147). More recent excavations in the northeastern quadrant also revealed the evidence of a heated hall-like building, which can possibly be interpreted as late antique barracks (Baerlocher 2023, p. 84; 2024). Further barracks are suspected in the southeast quadrant.

Fig. 2 – The late Roman fort at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Fig. 2 – The late Roman fort at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

General plan with location of the excavations mentioned in the text.

CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).

3Furthermore, it was possible to prove that the two main axes through the castrum were flanked by porticoes with adjoining rows of tabernae (Baerlocher 2023, pp. 81–84).

4In the first half of the 4th c. AD, Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense was probably the base camp of the legio I Martia created by emperor Diocletian, if it was not this legion that built the castrum in the first place (Drack, Fellmann 1988, p. 281; Schwarz 2011, p. 312; Berger 2012, p. 26; Allemann 2014, pp. 206–207; Hächler et al. 2020, pp. 128–130). Numerous hoard finds, including the silver treasure (Guggisberg ed. 2003; Hächler et al. 2020, pp. 180–182), which were concealed around the middle of the 4th c. AD, are to be seen in connection with the Germanic invasions after the usurpation of Magnentius. The castrum was probably also destroyed at that time (Berger 2012, p. 329; Hächler et al. 2020, p. 186; Peter 2022, p. 102). Roland Prien (2014) has recently, and rightly, been critical of interpreting each mid-4th-century sign of hoarding and/or destruction along the Upper Rhine as a result of the so-called Magnentius catastrophe, but does not doubt its effect on Augusta Raurica.

5In the first decade after the middle of the century, visits by Constantius II and Julian to the castrum are repeatedly recorded by Ammianus (Ammianus Marcellinus, History, XXI, 5, 1–12; Hächler et al. 2020, pp. 221–222 and pp. 226–227). Contrary to the written records, however, there are practically no archaeological finds from this period and it is barely reflected in the coinage (Peter 2003, pp. 222–223).

  • 4 Further evidence of alterations and renovations to the castrum wall has now also been discovered as (...)

6It was not until the Valentinianic period that increasing building activity could be documented by archaeological excavations (Peter 2003, p. 223; Hächler et al. 2020, p. 251). The castrum must have been refortified and the border defences consolidated by then at the latest (Berger 2012, p. 329). It is possible that the recently observed renovations to the eastern wall of the castrum are connected to these construction works (Baerlocher 2023, pp. 95–97).4 It is also possible that in this context the large apsidal building in front of the south gate was erected inside the castrum (Peter 2003, p. 223; Berger 2012, p. 329; Grezet 2021, pp. 145–146). Its function is still unclear. It may have been a principia (Fellmann 2004, p. 204) or an aula palatina (Fellmann 2006, p. 304).

  • 5 In order to further confirm the dating of the backfilling of the two defence ditches, 14C samples o (...)

7We can assume that the castrum was still under military control until at least the first half of the 5th c. AD (Berger 2012, pp. 330–331; Flückiger 2021, p. 152 and 154). It is probable that a mounted unit, (and) perhaps federates, were last stationed here. The distribution of finds suggests an intensive use of the suburbium area on the castrum’s southwestern side. Here, settlement activities continue until at least the first half of the 5th c. AD (Flückiger 2021, pp. 151–152). For this period a number of methodological questions challenge our interpretation of the archaeological record. Therefore, a lack of continuity in the record down to the 6th c. AD does not necessarily equate with a settlement hiatus (Flückiger 2023). A pottery kiln from the 6th c. AD, which was dug into the ruins of the Roman building complex in the northwestern quadrant, proves that the castrum was still in continued use in the early medieval period (Berger 2012, p. 331; Flückiger 2021, pp. 158–168). The continuity of the castrum into the early Middle Ages is also evidenced by a second defensive ditch, which was dug at the earliest at the end of the 4th c. AD/the beginning of the 5th c. AD. According to the finds, it was only filled in in the 7th or even 9th c. AD (Baerlocher 2019, pp. 108–112; 2020, pp. 75–77; Signer 2021, pp. 104–106).5 A few early medieval sunken feature buildings within and outside the castrum, as well as a number of suspected features, indicate where to look further for the actual settlement traces from the early Middle Ages (Flückiger 2021, pp. 70–73, with further lit.).

History of research into the late Roman cemeteries

8Research into the late Roman cemeteries of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense looks back on a long tradition. Particularly noteworthy is the northeastern necropolis (Ältere und Jüngere Kastellnekropole) located to the southeast of the castrum, which has been relatively well investigated and illustrated by Max Martin (Martin 1976; 1991; Berger 2012, pp. 351–354; Mayer 2016; 2023a; 2023b). It was in use from the early 4th to the 7th c. AD and is evidence of continuous settlement at Castrum Rauracense from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages. All the late antique and early medieval burials from the northeastern necropolis (Kastellnekropole) are currently being studied by Simone Mayer (see Mayer 2016; 2023a; 2023b). In addition, burials continued to take place in the existing early and middle Roman northwestern necropolis located in the area “Rheinstrasse” (Nordwestgräberfeld) and in the southeastern necropolis (Südostgräberfeld) located in the area “Im Sager” at Augst (Lassau 1995; Ammann forthcoming). The recently discovered late Roman burial in a lead coffin in the roadside cemetery along the overland road to Basel/Basilia, which had been in use since the early Roman period, illustrates the importance of this burial site until late antiquity (Baumann ed. 2021).

9To the east and west of the castrum, two further cemeteries were established along the two arterial roads: the necropolis “Kaiseraugst-Höll” (Gräberfeld Kaiseraugst-Höll) west of the fortress (Brunner 2014; Baerlocher 2022b, pp. 103–114) and the necropolis “Kaiseraugst-Rinau” (Gräberfeld Kaiseraugst-Rinau) in the east (fig. 1) (Berger 2012, p. 354).

10With regard to the late antique burial site Kaiseraugst-Höll, the rescue excavation 2018.003 “Werkleitungen Schürmatt” and the trial trench excavation 2021.006 “Schürmatt” yielded important new evidence (Baerlocher 2019). The inhumations excavated there also belong to this cemetery and show that it was much larger than previously thought (Baerlocher 2019, pp. 59–88; 2022a, pp. 103–114). The burial site, located at an extension of Constantius II Street, can be regarded as one of the main fort cemeteries related to the fort. Together with the Nekropolis Rinau in the east these two cemeteries, located along the roads leading out of the fort, emphasise the importance of this west-east connection in late antiquity. These two cemeteries also differ significantly in their layout from the northeastern necropolis (Ältere und Jüngere Kastellnekropole). The juxtaposition of several cemeteries at different locations (cemetery by a road versus cemetery on a hill) can also be observed at other sites such as Windisch/Vindonissa (Baerlocher et al. 2017) or Basel/Basilia (Depaermentier 2023).

History of research into the suburbium

11Since research had long focused on the interior of the castrum, little attention was paid to the area surrounding the fortress, with the exception of the late antique cemeteries.

12Ludwig Berger was the first to link the accumulation of late Roman finds around the castrum with late Roman settlement activity extra muros (Berger 2005, p. 46). He was able to show that there were apparently also wealthy inhabitants who settled on the outskirts of and outside the fortress who could afford and had access to imports such as amphorae and glass vessels (Berger 2005, p. 46 and 48).

13Based on the small finds, including those with military connotations such as crossbow brooches (Zwiebelknopffibeln), he assumed that civilians and members of the frontier army had settled here (Berger 2005, p. 48). L. Berger neutrally labelled this settlement as a castrum suburb (Berger 2005, p. 54). A few late Roman militaria from this suburb also attest to activity until at least the late 4th c. AD (Berger 2005, p. 56).

  • 6 We are grateful to Markus Peter (Augusta Raurica) for this information.

14Thanks to the research of Peter-Andrew Schwarz, we know that a part of the upper part of the colonia (Kastelen) was already fortified in 276 AD at the earliest, in the form of an enceinte réduite (Schwarz 2011, p. 309). However, a re-determination of the coins yields a tpq of 282 AD (Grézet 2019, p. 243).6 This fortification was demolished after the middle of the 4th c. AD at the latest (Schwarz 2011, p. 310), possibly to obtain material for the repair of the castrum (Schwarz 2011, p. 310). P.-A. Schwarz was also the first to refer to this suburb as suburbium, following Ammianus’ nomenclature for the then unfortified part of today’s Paris (Schwarz 2011, p. 317). Lastly, Anna Flückiger was able to present a study of the character and development of this castrum suburb as part of her doctoral thesis analysing two excavations in the south-west of the castrum (Flückiger 2021). Thanks to the depression in the terrain above a quarry of the earlier Imperial period, the late Roman settlement stratigraphy in the excavation 2008.003 “DH Implenia, Mühlegasse” was particularly well preserved. Geoarchaeology, coins and analysis of the extensive finds enable a differentiated interpretation of the complex structural and stratigraphic sequence of the settlement site, which was used intensively, in particular in the 4th c. AD (Flückiger 2021, pp. 183–187; 2023). After the area was used for grazing or as farmland at the beginning of the 4th c. AD, it was subsequently built over with timber structures (Flückiger 2021, p. 148). In the middle of the 4th c. AD, there is evidence of a smoking-oven being used for food production (Flückiger 2021, pp. 52–58 and p. 148). It is quite possible that meat was cured here. There is also evidence of metalworking (Flückiger 2021, p. 148). The fibulae and the belt parts are very similar to those found in the necropolis “Kaiseraugst-Höll” (Flückiger 2021, p. 151). Among other finds, several crossbow brooches and belt parts point strongly to a late Roman military habitus. A mixed find assemblage (not attributable to a particular feature) has produced a tile fragment with a stamp from legio I Martia (R. Känel in Flückiger 2021, p. 209), parallels to which feature heavily in nearby parts of the suburbium (see below, § 20). Based on the finds, it is possible to identify a population group that lived here after the middle of the 4th c. AD (Flückiger 2021, p. 151). Settlement activities can be traced as far as the first half of the 5th c. AD (Flückiger 2021, p. 152). The militaria from the late 4th and early 5th c. AD prove the presence of the military (Flückiger 2021, p. 152). It is possible that an equites unit was stationed here (Flückiger 2021, p. 152). The former is not only suggested by military belts and fibulae, but substantiated by weaponry and riding gear. As to the latter, the interpretation is of an equites unit: currently, several spurs of the type Leuna C/D are known around the castrum, as well as fragments from Deurne/Berkasovo-type helmets. Both find types have direct parallels in Burghöfe/Submuntorium (Bayern, Germany), where current research links them to the presence of the equites stablesiani iuniores (Flückiger 2021, pp. 101–103 et p. 152; Mackensen 2017, pp. 176–182). For this late period within the 4th and maybe 5th c. AD, Peter-Andrew Schwarz (Schwarz 2011, pp. 316–317) argues that the legio VIII [August]anensium was in garrison at the site, as well as a presence of federates from barbaricum.

15In recent years, research into the suburbium has produced many new discoveries and clear evidence of late Roman settlement structures. Nevertheless, many questions about the suburb remain unanswered. For example, it is still unclear how to explain the large number of late Roman coins in certain areas of the suburbium where little or no evidence of late Roman building structures has been found. In this context, the extensive excavations at the site called “Auf der Wacht” in 2011-2013 should be mentioned (Cox, Grezet 2012; 2014; Cox et al. 2013). There, only large pit groups and cart tracks could be assigned to late antiquity. This sparse evidence is in striking contrast to the numerous coin finds from the 4th c. AD. For the latter—i.e. coins—Markus Peter has recently outlined some methodological advances which allowed him to discern specifics of the circulation and distribution of late-4th-century copper issues which are mirrored in the settlement deposits of the late 4th to the early 5th c. AD. The coin distribution and associated degrees of wear may help identify patterns pertaining to the early 5th c. AD, when base metal coin supply virtually stopped (Peter 2016). This, along with the 3D-mapping of the coins and their attributes (see below, § 35), may in future help us discern 5th-century features where tratitional dating methods fail.

Results of the latest excavations in the suburbium

16The most recent excavations in the southern and southwestern outskirts of the fort have provided further insights into the late antique settlement topography. As part of the excavation 2021.005 “Mühlegasse 25” a practically undeveloped area in the southwest of the castrum was investigated (fig. 3) (Signer 2022). Surprisingly, no settlement structures from the middle imperial period were recognisable in the excavation area, and the coin series only began with coins from the late 3rd c. AD (Signer 2022, p. 83). Numerous late antique settlement structures, which can also be seen in the context of the suburbium, were documented. As with the excavation previously mentioned, post-holes and beam slots belonging to fences or lightweight buildings were documented. In the central area of the excavation site there were several pits of different shapes and depths, some of which overlapped. Some pits could be interpreted as quarry pits, others as latrines or rubbish pits (Signer 2022, pp. 85–87). It is possible to reconstruct floor plans of some of the buildings from the post-holes. In the south of the excavation area, for example, it was possible to reconstruct a building consisting at least of two rooms in which three coin hoards were deposited (Signer 2022, p. 94, building B). Several layers of fire debris in the area of these buildings probably imply destruction caused by the Germanic invasions in connection with the usurpation of Maxentius around 353 AD. The three small Constantinian coin hoards that were discovered under the debris in the building fit with this (Peter 2022, pp. 101–102). These are presumably small coin coffers hidden under a wooden floor, which were not recovered after the destruction (Peter 2022, pp. 101–102).

Fig. 3 – General plan of “Mühlegasse 25” 2021.005 and 2022.003 excavations at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Fig. 3 – General plan of “Mühlegasse 25” 2021.005 and 2022.003 excavations at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).

17After the destruction around the middle of the century, the site was obviously used for other purposes. In the second half of the 4th c. AD, a smoking-oven was erected in the area of the demolished building with the coin hoards (Signer 2022, pp. 87–89; Setz 2022). The oven was made of reused building material. In the north of the excavation area, a large layer was documented that contained almost exclusively animal bones mainly from cattle (fig. 4) (Signer 2022, p. 87; Setz 2022). Certain body parts were over-represented and many bones showed traces of chopping and cutting. It can be argued that this was waste from the smoker (Setz 2022). Together with other furnaces of this type in the neighborhood it appears that several smoking-ovens were in operation here in the second half of the 4th c. AD (see also above; Müller 2001, p. 107; Flückiger 2021, pp. 52–58). It is possible that food was preserved here for catering for the troops (Baerlocher 2020, p. 119; Flückiger 2021, p. 148). The small finds include militaria such as strap-ends and a knob bow fibula (composite crossbow or bow-knob brooch/Bügelknopffibel) (Signer 2022, pp. 86–87). These fibulae are regarded as the Germanic counterpart to the crossbow brooches and were particularly widespread in barbaricum, but also in Roman areas. Six such fibulae are now known from Kaiseraugst and it is worth considering whether they should be seen in connection with Germanic mercenaries or federates (Biswas et al. 2023, p. 5).

Fig. 4 – Smoking oven with service pit in the east and drainage ditch to the west discovered during “Mühlegasse 25” 2021.005 excavation at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Fig. 4 – Smoking oven with service pit in the east and drainage ditch to the west discovered during “Mühlegasse 25” 2021.005 excavation at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Photograph: Kantonsarchäologie Aargau.

Religious topography

  • 7 Catalogues of small finds with early Christian symbolism from Kaiseraugst can be found by Kob 2000, (...)

18Of particular note is a signet ring with a depiction of a ship and a christogram, which joins the small group of small finds with religious connotations from the castrum and its suburbium (fig. 5) (Baerlocher 2022c, p. 205). The ring can be formally assigned to type 4 or the type variants 4f and 4g identified by Hélène Guiraud (1989, pp. 188–191, fig. 26 to 31). The newly discovered ring with christogram is the third such specimen from the late antique Castrum Rauracense and its suburbium (Baerlocher 2022c, p. 207). A comparable ring was found in 1999 during an excavation only about 100 m south of the current excavation area (Kob 2000, pp. 120–124). Worth mentioning in this context is the menorah ring, which was also found in the area of the suburbium (Grolimund, Müller 2002, pp. 96–97). The ring also dates to the 4th c. AD and is one of the few material testimonies to Jewish presence in late antiquity on the territory of present-day Switzerland (Berger 2005, p. 46; 2012, p. 292). Beside that, there are further objects with Christian symbolism known from the castrum.7 Notable are a toothpick with a christogram, which was part of the silver treasure (Cahn, Kaufmann-Heinimann 1984, pp. 122–123), and a helmet crest made of bronze, which was also found near the large apsidal building beside the south gate of the castrum (Tomašević 1971, pp. 204–206).

Fig. 5 – Signet ring with christogram discovered during excavation 2021.005 “Mühlegasse 25” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Fig. 5 – Signet ring with christogram discovered during excavation 2021.005 “Mühlegasse 25” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Photograph: S. Schenker (Augusta Raurica); drawing: C. Stierli (Augusta Raurica).

19The mirror-image depiction of the monograms unequivocally identifies all three rings from Kaiseraugst as signet rings. They therefore served their wearers primarily as a personal emblem for signing and labelling possessions (Kob 2000, pp. 120–121; Gottschalk 2015, p. 157; Nagel, Wolsfeld 2019, pp. 443–444). Because of the clearly Christian and Jewish symbolism, it can be assumed that the wearers also used these rings to show their religious affiliation (Fellmann et al. 2014, p. 25; Gottschalk 2015, pp. 157–158; Nagel, Wolsfeld 2019, p. 448). There are, however, a number of such signet rings without clear religious symbolism (Flückiger 2021, pp. 97–98, cat. no 859.860.861, pl. 42). The distribution of small finds with Christian motifs in the late antique settlement area shows that three objects with the Christ monogram from inside the castrum are juxtaposed with two such objects from outside (Baerlocher 2022c, p. 208, fig. 4). Apart from the toothpick, which was deliberately concealed as part of the silver treasure, the distribution of the remaining artefacts can probably be regarded as random. We can assume, for example, that the rings, as well as the helmet crest fitting, were lost. The current distribution map of the few small finds with Christian and Jewish symbolism is therefore not very meaningful in terms of religious topography. In general, the question must also be asked as to how reliable “Christian” small finds are, for example with regard to statements about the presence of Christians or the degree of Christianisation of the population. Eckhard Wirbelauer and Gertrud Kuhnle have rightly pointed out that the presence of Christians in the southern Upper Rhine Valley in the 4th c. AD is generally to be expected under the emperors of the Constantinian and Valentinianic families who—with one exception—professed Christianity (Kuhnle, Wirbelauer 2019, p. 78; along the same line also Rütti 2016). Rather, the question arises as to whether and to what extent Christians can be recognised at all in the material recovered or whether they remain invisible, at least to a certain degree (Kuhnle, Wirbelauer 2019, p. 78). The distribution of the late Roman coins outside the castrum and the widespread absence of coins of Magnentius there have been taken as an indication that the material found extra muros was also lost there and was not disposed of together with rubbish or debris from the fort (Peter 2001, p. 161; 2016, p. 99; Schwarz 2011, p. 318; Flückiger 2021, p. 184). It is therefore quite conceivable that the three finger rings with religious connotations belonged to inhabitants of the suburbium. The presence of the church in the castrum, starting perhaps in the late 4th c. AD, and—in the northeastern necropolis (Kastellnekropole)—a memoria and obolus coins in certain graves (Martin 1991; Schwarz 2002) augment the Christian, or perhaps at first rather multi-religious character of the settlement connected with Castrum Rauracense. The Christian character of the inscription on the so-called Eustata’s gravestone is contested (Boppert 2000, pp. 107–112). There are, however, another burial stela (burial 981) and a burial slab (burial Schmid 39) with arguably Christian symbolism (Schwarz 2002, pp. 161–162, fig. 5). There is still some discussion as to whether and when Kaiseraugst may have become an episcopal see; something that we rather tend to assume for nearby Basel, at least from the 7th c. AD onward (cf. last Flückiger 2021, pp. 186–187 with further lit.; Schwarz 2002, p. 155).

The stone building

20In the summer of 2022, a small area to the north of the excavation 2021.005 “Mühlegasse 25” was investigated (fig. 6) (Baerlocher, Känel 2023). During this excavation, a stone building was uncovered, which was equipped with a channelled heating system with a central distribution chamber (fig. 3) (Baerlocher, Känel 2023). This heating system contained many tiles bearing the legio I Martia stamp, which dates the building to late antiquity. The building consisted of at least two rooms separated by an inner wall. Only the foundations of the walls had survived; no upright masonry was preserved. The thickness of the foundations suggest that the walls were at least partially made of stone. Burnt daub in the demolition rubble of the building also indicates that individual walls were of timber-framed construction and that a fire destroyed the building. The side walls, floor and covering of the praefurnium and heating channel were made of whole moulded bricks, several of which also bore the legio I Martia stamp, wipe marks, hand marks and animal paw prints (Baerlocher, Känel 2023, p. 137). Even a capping slab that was part of the floor construction still resting on the western pila had a legio I Martia stamp. The bricks were probably all fired in the brick kilns in Liebrüti, where the legio I Martia apparently operated a large-scale brick production facility (Allemann 2014; Baerlocher, Känel 2023, pp. 140 and 145). The question arises as to whether the tiles were in primary or secondary use. The answer to this question is decisive for the dating of the building on the one hand and for its function on the other. First, it is noticeable that all five known legio I Martia stamp types are represented in the material from the excavation 2022.003 “Mühlegasse 25” (Baerlocher, Känel 2023, pp. 143–144). As far as the installation of the tiles in the heating system is concerned, no concentration or sequence of stamp types can be observed. The material was not installed in separate batches, but completely randomly. The situation is different with the brick slabs, which were used in the distribution chamber according to their function. Secondly because of the fact that the brick material travelled directly from the brick kiln to the building site and because numerous moulded bricks have survived in a freshly produced state, it can be shown that the tiles were in primary use here (Baerlocher, Känel 2023, pp. 143–144). Based on the coins and the bricks with the legio I Martia stamp, the stone building can most probably be dated to the first half of the 4th c. AD, more precisely to the years after 330 AD (Baerlocher, Känel 2023, p. 146). It was destroyed by fire around the middle of the 4th c. AD, presumably in the same context in which the building with the three Constantinian coin hoards was destroyed (Baerlocher, Känel 2023, p. 146). The evidence of a late antique stone building outside the Castrum Rauracense is remarkable. This raises the question of the function of this building. The stamped tiles prompt the question as to whether it was a public or official building. In addition to Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense and the brick kilns in the Liebrüti area, where these legionary bricks were produced, such bricks were also found in other places in the province of Sequania/Maxima Sequanorum (Allemann 2014, pp. 162–164; Hächler et al. 2020, pp. 130–132). They are mostly found in the context of military or public buildings, less frequently in burial contexts. Bricks with stamps from this legion were found in two stone buildings on the Münsterhügel in Basel (Asal 2017, p. 285). Because of the sites of the finds—primarily the location outside a late antique fortress—the so-called praetorium in Biesheim-Oedenburg “Westergass” (Haut-Rhin, France) lends itself as a comparison. There are also numerous bricks stamped by the legio I Martia from this building complex, which was connected to both a main road and a riverside route (Seitz 2019, pp. 265–267). As with the present finds from Kaiseraugst, all types of stamps are also represented there. Moreover, the dating of the two buildings is comparable. According to the coins found, the building in Biesheim-Oedenburg was built in the time of Constantine’s sons after 337 AD (Seitz 2019, p. 266). The Oedenburg building complex is interpreted as a roadside praetorium, i.e. a public/official complex, as its layout and size are similar to a complex in Sardinia that is epigraphically recognised as a praetorium (Seitz 2019, pp. 268–269). Another comparable context from which stamped legio I Martia bricks originate is the building at Kallnach “Bergweg” near Bern (Ebnöther et al. 2022). The building, which was badly damaged by post-Roman disturbances, consisted of at least five rooms, of which a large central room can possibly be interpreted as a kind of inner courtyard (Ebnöther et al. 2022, p. 14 and pp. 18–20). As with the stone building in the suburbium of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense it is impossible to interpret the function of the building at Kallnach because of the lack of specific find material. What the two buildings have in common, apart from the stamped bricks, is that the Magnentius disturbances were also reflected in Kallnach in the form of a coin hoard (Ebnöther et al. 2022, p. 102). Unlike in Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense, however, the building in Kallnach apparently continued to be used or was used again in the second half of the 4th c. AD (Ebnöther et al. 2022, p. 102). The small finds and the legionary tiles provide archaeological evidence of a relationship between the inhabitants of the Kallnach building and the Roman administration or military (Ebnöther et al. 2022, p. 103).

Fig. 6 – Excavation 2022.003 “Mühlegasse 25” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Fig. 6 – Excavation 2022.003 “Mühlegasse 25” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

A, the stone building equipped with a canal heating system with a hypocaust-shaped distribution chamber (with two preserved pilae) and service pit in the south; B, detail of the stamped capital slab and the stamped tiles of the cover of the heating channel of the praefurnium.

Photographs: Kantonsarchäologie Aargau.

21An interpretation of these buildings as a road station or praetorium of the cursus publicus has been discussed. The second known late Roman extra muros stone building in Kaiseraugst was discovered in 1975 to the east of Castrum Rauracense (Faccani 2012, pp. 166–167; Oppliger 2022). At that time, a small building with two projecting water reservoirs was excavated, which is interpreted as a bath building and which may also have been part of a late antique road station. Based on a Maxentius coin from the floor of one of these reservoirs, the building seems to date to the second half of the 4th c. AD (Faccani 2012, pp. 166–167; Oppliger 2022).

The late antique amphitheatre

22Finally, the surprising discovery of a late antique amphitheatre immediately west of the castrum should be mentioned. The monument was discovered completely unexpectedly in the area of an abandoned Middle Imperial quarry (fig. 2 and 7) (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 184–203). During a construction supervision, a curved wall was uncovered inside the construction area. The further course of the wall was recorded in several test trenches outside the excavation pit, so that an elliptical ring wall of 56 m long × 42.66 m wide could be reconstructed (Cox 2023, p. 111). The double-shell wall was 80 cm. wide and was partially built against the slope in the southeast, so that it was still preserved there up to one metre high (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 189–191). A whitish wall plastering made from lime mortar had been preserved on the inside of the wall. The remains of a gate were found in the south of the complex (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 191–193). While the actual gate had already been robbed and only the robber pits were left, to the west of it a side door flanking the gate in the form of a red sandstone block and the base of the gate frame next to it had survived (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 191). The large block must have served as a substruction for the doorstep that had already been removed (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 191–193). Thanks to to the robbery pit an identical side door can also be reconstructed for the east side of the gate (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 193; Cox 2023, p. 112). The following layout could be reconstructed: the gate consisted of a threshold with a maximum width of 4.0 m and a maximum depth of 1.5 m, which was flanked by two side doors to the east and west (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 191–193; Cox 2023, p. 112). Another entrance was discovered in the west of the ring wall, in the form of a red sandstone block embedded in the wall. It also served as a base for a doorstep (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 193–194). A test trench in the walled area revealed no evidence of interior buildings (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 196). Apparently the entire interior was unbuilt. Outside the ring wall, two traces of posts and the remains of a construction site were found in the investigated areas (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 194–196; 2023, p. 109). The shape of the ring wall and the layout of the entrances are decisive for the interpretation of this monument. On the basis of its elliptical shape, the most plausible interpretation of the building is that of an amphitheatre. Also on the basis of its elliptical shape the wall can be regarded as the podium wall of such a theatre building. This interpretation is strongly supported by the position and arrangement of the recorded entrances. This form of architectural arrangement of the entrances, including the gate with flanking side doors and the lateral door, is a specific feature that, as far as is known, only occurs in amphitheatres. A nearly identical arrangement of the gate with two flanking side doors can be found at the imperial amphitheatre of Augst-Sichelengraben in the upper town of Augusta Raurica (Hufschmid 2009, p. 86; Baerlocher 2022a, p. 193 with fig. 16).

Fig. 7 – Excavation 2021.016 “Bootshaus Basler Ruderclub” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

Fig. 7 – Excavation 2021.016 “Bootshaus Basler Ruderclub” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)

A, drone image of the construction supervision in December 2021 with the exposed podium wall; B, podium wall: picture of the red sandstone block that formed the threshold of the lateral porta postica of the southern arena gate.

Photographs: Kantonsarchäologie Aargau.

  • 8 A summary of the dimensions of amphitheatres in the two Germanic provinces can be found in Dimde 20 (...)
  • 9 Sommer 2009, p. 55 and 58, more critically, Dimde 2019, p. 192: she emphasises the importance of th (...)

23Two traces of posts outside the podium wall may be the remains of a wooden cavea. They may have been part of an elliptical row of posts that formed part of the spectator stand construction of the cavea (Baerlocher 2022a, pp. 194–196; 2023, p. 109). The ground plan of the arena is not oval. According to Thomas Hufschmid, it appears to be a construction of four circular segments, i.e. an ellipse (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 198). As has been repeatedly observed in Augusta Raurica, the Drusian foot served as the basis for the measurement (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 198; Cox 2023). The proximity of the arena to the castrum wall and the presumed contemporaneity of the two monuments mean that the cavea cannot have been particularly deep. As it was small, it probably only had room for a few hundred spectators (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 198). In contrast, the 56 × 42.66 m arena is one of the larger examples of its kind (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 198). By way of comparison, the arena of the Augst-Sichelengraben civilian amphitheatre, for example, measures 50.6 m lengthwise and 33.38 m crosswise (Hufschmid 2009, p. 66). Similarly large or even larger arenas are known from military amphitheatres. For example, the arena of the wooden amphitheatre at Windisch/Vindonissa (canton of Aargau) is 74.5 m long and 56.6 m wide and that of the legionary camp at Xanten-Birten/Vetera I (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany) 55.5 × 42.4 m.8 Also noticeable is the rather smaller design of the amphitheatre, which was built in wood and stone. There is no evidence of a couloir and enclosing wall, nor of a monumental cavea, as is known from other such structures from urban and military contexts. However, comparable structures are known from the latter contexts: C. Sebastian Sommer has compiled a series of amphitheatres, often used only temporarily, at auxiliary forts in the border provinces and has identified the following common features: the oval, elliptical or sometimes round arena was built or dug into a depression in the terrain and surrounded by a wooden or stone podium wall (Sommer 2009, p. 55). With the exception of the round ones, wooden spectator stands were reconstructed behind the podium wall for all the arenas. These can be subdivided into further subtypes (Sommer 2009, p. 58). The amphitheatre at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense is comparable to the type of “oval enclosure with stone wall” after Sommer. A parallel to this can be found in Dura Europos (Syria) (Sommer 2009, pp. 48–49; Dimde 2019, pp. 147–148). There, a stone podium wall was erected on the ruins of a collapsed thermal bath complex, surrounding an arena measuring 36 × 29 m. The excavator assumed wooden spectator stands. According to the building inscription found, the amphitheatre was erected in 216 AD by the vexillations of two legions (Dimde 2019, pp. 146–147). It is assumed that it was built for soldiers of the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum (Sommer 2009, p. 49). The function of such military amphitheatres is unlikely to have differed significantly from that of civilian ones (Hufschmid 2009, p. 167 with footnote 789). It has been assumed that this type of amphitheatre also served as a parade ground for soldiers—especially mounted troop units—although the facilities tended to be too small for larger manoeuvres.9 It can therefore be assumed that munera and venationes were organised and executions were carried out in these arenas (Baerlocher 2022a, p. 199). It has also been speculated that some of these facilities were built in connection with an exceptional event such as an emperor’s birthday during a visit to the military camp in question and were used for only a few decades (Sommer 2009, p. 59).

24Three nummi from construction-period layers date the construction of the amphitheatre to the early 4th c. AD, although the specific reason for it is unknown (Baerlocher 2023, p. 113). Based on the coin series, it can be assumed that the arena was used in the first half of the 4th c. AD (Baerlocher 2023, p. 114, fig. 81). A few coins from the minting period of 353–364 AD could indicate that the amphitheatre was frequented again after the disturbances around the middle of the century (Baerlocher 2023, p. 114, fig. 81). The visits of Constantius II and Julian to Kaiseraugst and the surrounding area with large contingents of troops, as recorded by Ammianus, fall precisely into this period. In contrast to this, the rise in the coin curve in the Valentinianic period, which is otherwise typical of late antique sites at Kaiseraugst, is not detectable here (Baerlocher 2023, p. 114, fig. 81). The reason for this was probably that the arena had already been abandoned by then. Because of the three nummi, we can date the amphitheatre’s construction to the 4th c. AD, around the same time as the castrum itself. Because of the dating, we can argue that the legio I Martia was involved in its construction and it is likely that the arena was also built as a military amphitheatre for the units stationed there (as it was assumed for the facility in Dura Europos; Sommer 2009, pp. 48–49). The amphitheatre at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense thus belongs to the period known as the Constantinian recovery or boom, which is characterised, among other things, by a lively building activity (Baerlocher 2023, p. 115). In this context, reference should be made to the theatre in Mainz/Mogontiacum (Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany), which, according to the finds, is also a new building from the Constantinian period (Heising 2022, pp. 93–95). Together with other buildings in the castrum itself and the silver treasure, the amphitheatre illustrates the importance of Castrum Rauracense as one of the administrative centres of the province of Sequania/Maxima Sequanorum at least in the first half of the 4th c. AD.

The inhabitants of the suburbium

25Another question remains: who actually lived in the late antique suburbium of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense? Did the last remaining inhabitants of the colony town settle here or did the entourage of the military units or the soldiers and their families themselves live here, as in the earlier military vici? Additionally, it is essential to consider whether population groups from the region on the right bank of the Rhine, commonly referred to as barbaricum, also established settlements in this area. Finally, it is necessary to investigate whether the composition of the population underwent changes during the 4th c. AD, particularly following the destruction associated with the usurpation of Magnentius in the mid-century.

26The continued presence of a residual population from the colonial town during the late 3rd and early 4th c. AD is indicated not only by the fortification erected on the Castelen plateau in the upper town post-282 AD (Schwarz 2002), but also by the ongoing utilisation of burial sites from the imperial period (Schwarz 2011, p. 310). It is therefore quite conceivable that this population group also lived in the suburbium, at least temporarily (Schwarz 2011, p. 310; most recently Baumann ed. 2021, p. 160). The burial of a 44- to 50-year-old woman in a lead coffin in the northwestern necropolis (Nordwestgräberfeld) could be representative of such a biography (Baumann ed. 2021). According to strontium and oxygen isotope analyses, the woman, who died between 300 and 330 AD, was probably born and raised here (Baumann ed. 2021, pp. 158–162). We also assume an influx of new population groups with a close connection to the military in the first half of the 4th c. AD, in connection with the stationing of divisions of the legio I Martia in the newly constructed castrum. The analysis and publication of the burials from the earlier northeastern necropolis (Ältere Kastellnekropole) promises new insights in this regard (Mayer forthcoming). Potentially, the new-found amphitheater might tie in with such a mixed, military and civilian, nature of the suburbium in the first half of the 4th c. AD.

27The destructions around the middle of the 4th c. AD probably also marked a decisive turning point for the population of the suburbium. It can be assumed that the castrum and its surrounding area were largely depopulated in the first few years after the destruction (Peter 2003, p. 223). This observation is also valid for the rural settlements, especially the villas in the neighbourhood (Schwarz 2011, p. 319). The numerous unrecovered coin hoards in the castrum and its suburbium also point to a significant decline in population. Their presence could indicate that the former owners were no longer on site to recover their treasures.

28In the course of the second half of the 4th c. AD, however, human activity in the castrum and its suburbium increased again (see above, § 6). It is possible that newly-stationed soldiers settled in the suburbium with their relatives, who probably no longer had much in common with the inhabitants of the first half of the 4th c. AD. According to P.-A. Schwarz, Germanic mercenaries, or more neutral, warrior units from the right bank of the Rhine, were also stationed as foederati in the castrum in the late 4th c. AD. It is thus quite possible that they or their relatives also inhabited the suburbium (Schwarz 2011, p. 318; in this context the distribution of the Bügelknopffibeln may also be notable, see above, § 17).

29In summary: the sprawling nature of the suburbium’s settlement in the 4th c. AD, as well as the extensively used cemeteries, suggest that in the first half of the century both descendants of Augusta Raurica’s city inhabitants and new immigrant populations lived here. The composition of the population changed in the course of the 4th c. AD and especially in the second half of that century.

*

* *

30The extent of the suburbium can roughly be delineated on the basis of the distribution of late Roman finds in the castrum surroundings (fig. 8). The late Roman cemeteries form the outer boundaries of the suburb in the west, east and south. In the north, the Rhine forms a natural boundary. The most recent excavations in the suburbium largely confirm the results of Anna Flückiger’s work. Different utilisation zones can now also be distinguished within the suburbium and the character of the buildings is also becoming clearer. We can assume that the castrum suburb was densely built up with timber-framed buildings in the first half of the 4th c. AD, at least in some places. One excavated area was temporarily used for animal pasture or agriculture during this time (Flückiger 2021, pp. 43–49). In the south and west of the castrum, several facilities for food production are now known, which tend to date to the middle and second half of the 4th c. AD. It is possible that food was preserved here to feed the burgi along the Upper Rhine limes.

Fig. 8 – The castrum of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland) and its suburbium with the various areas of activities

Fig. 8 – The castrum of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland) and its suburbium with the various areas of activities

CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).

31The two stone buildings to the west and east of the castrum are probably public/official buildings. These buildings, which possibly did not exist at the same time, may be connected to the cursus publicus.

32The newly discovered amphitheatre to the west of the castrum belongs to another area of use. In the first half of the 4th c. AD, this building shaped the settlement pattern of the suburbium and gave it an almost urban character. Last but not least it illustrates the importance of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense as one of the administrative centres of the province Sequania/Maxima Sequanorum.

33The dependence of the suburbium on the castrum and thus on the military is illustrated not least by the many militaria and the stone building with leg I Martia tiles. We can therefore suggest that the castrum suburb was under direct military control. In this respect the suburbium has some similarities with the canabae legionis or vici of the Middle Imperial period.

34It should be noted, however, that the large number of late Roman coins from several sites outside the castrum still stands in striking contrast to the few known built structures from this period. The question arises as to how this can be explained. Recent excavations, such as the one at the “Mühlegasse 25” site, have shown that late Roman building features can certainly be discovered if the appropriate approach is taken. However, without meticulous detailed analyses, reconstructions of building layouts—not to mention the differentiation of individual construction phases—are hardly possible (Flückiger 2021).

  • 10 However, the available coins mostly date from the time of Constantine and his sons or the Valentini (...)

35In contrast, there are also entire areas in the suburbium such as the “Auf der Wacht” site where only large quantities of late Roman coins and almost no contemporary structures were found. Structures in the form of post-holes or the like are obviously completely absent at these sites and could not be discovered despite meticulous excavation methods. A satisfactory explanation for this contradiction has to yet be found. A possible explanation could be that this is due to the presence only temporarily of larger contingents of troops from the mobile army, the so-called comitatenses, who were accommodated in tented camps and left hardly any archaeological traces. The presence of such contingents near the Castrum Rauracense is documented several times in the written sources.10 Another explanation could be that the remains of the buildings in the fort suburb are so ephemeral that they are barely detectable. For example, light wooden buildings, which required hardly any ground intervention for their construction, would be barely detectable archaeologically. Recently, the potential of geoarchaeological analyses for detecting human and animal presence and their ephemeral activities (e.g., trampling, handicraft/metalwork, pasture use) has been recognised for the suburbium. This is particularly promising for areas where soil formation processes have obliterated clear remnants of human-made structures and led to the presence of so-called “dark earth” (Flückiger 2021; 2023). Another methodological avenue may be the 3-D mapping of coins and other small finds which has recently helped discern late Roman settlement layers invisible to the naked eye (Allemann 2014, p. 199; Flückiger 2019; 2021, pp. 19–27 and pp. 67–69; 2023; see also Peter 2016, p. 100).

36With regard to the inhabitants of the suburbium, a population can be assumed for the first half of the 4th c. AD that consisted of former inhabitants of the colony town and newly arrived military personnel and their relatives. The destruction around the middle of the century also marked a turning point for the inhabitants of the suburbium. The destroyed castrum and suburbium were probably depopulated for some time afterwards. It was not until the second half of the 4th c. AD that archaeological evidence of activities in the suburbium could be detected again. It is possible that newly arrived soldiers and their families settled here. Towards the end of the century, influences from the right bank of the Rhine can also be identified, indicating the presence of foederati in the castrum and its suburbium.

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Bibliographie

Ancient bibliographical reference

Ammien Marcellin: Res gestae, tome III, books XX–XXII, ed. and trans. J. Fontaine, Paris, Les Belles Lettres (coll. CUF, Latin series, 333), 1996, 506 p.

References

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Notes

1 This article is based on the presentation on the current state of research into the suburbium of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense. The publication of this article would not have been possible without the cooperation of numerous colleagues from the archaeological office of the canton of Aargau (Kantonsarchäologie Aargau) and from the Roman town of Augusta Raurica. We would like to thank them all for their support. Our special thanks go to Shona Cox for proofreading and to Claudia Zipfel and Philipp Schürmann for the planning work and illustrations.

2 For the reconstruction of the castrum towers, see also Baerlocher 2020, pp. 85–87 with reference to further lit.

3 On praetoria in general, see Schäfer 2014. An obvious parallel is the late Roman praetorium on the Breisach cathedral hill in Germany, which has similarities in its ground plan, see also Zagermann 2010.

4 Further evidence of alterations and renovations to the castrum wall has now also been discovered as part of the renovation project for the sections of the wall still visible above ground. See Hufschmid forthcoming.

5 In order to further confirm the dating of the backfilling of the two defence ditches, 14C samples of charcoal and bone were also taken from the ditch backfills during the excavations 2019.003 “Bolingerhaus” and 2020.010 “Sonne”. The publication of the results is in preparation (Baerlocher et al. forthcoming).

6 We are grateful to Markus Peter (Augusta Raurica) for this information.

7 Catalogues of small finds with early Christian symbolism from Kaiseraugst can be found by Kob 2000, p. 124; Schwarz 2002, pp. 156–158; 2011, pp. 339–341; Rütti 2016; Kuhnle, Wirbelauer 2019, pp. 78–79.

8 A summary of the dimensions of amphitheatres in the two Germanic provinces can be found in Dimde 2019, p. 356, table 1.

9 Sommer 2009, p. 55 and 58, more critically, Dimde 2019, p. 192: she emphasises the importance of the arenas as a chthonic-religious space that is not necessarily suitable as a training ground.

10 However, the available coins mostly date from the time of Constantine and his sons or the Valentinianic period, while far fewer coins exist from the decades after 350 AD, when, according to Ammianus, large contingents of troops were on the ground (Peter 2003, pp. 222–223).

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Table des illustrations

Titre Fig. 1 – General plan of Augst/Augusta Raurica (canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland) and Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland): upper and lower town, the fortifications at Kastelen and the castrum as well as the location of the cemeteries and the road network
Crédits CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 325k
Titre Fig. 2 – The late Roman fort at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)
Légende General plan with location of the excavations mentioned in the text.
Crédits CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 512k
Titre Fig. 3 – General plan of “Mühlegasse 25” 2021.005 and 2022.003 excavations at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)
Crédits CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 373k
Titre Fig. 4 – Smoking oven with service pit in the east and drainage ditch to the west discovered during “Mühlegasse 25” 2021.005 excavation at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)
Crédits Photograph: Kantonsarchäologie Aargau.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 958k
Titre Fig. 5 – Signet ring with christogram discovered during excavation 2021.005 “Mühlegasse 25” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)
Crédits Photograph: S. Schenker (Augusta Raurica); drawing: C. Stierli (Augusta Raurica).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 397k
Titre Fig. 6 – Excavation 2022.003 “Mühlegasse 25” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)
Légende A, the stone building equipped with a canal heating system with a hypocaust-shaped distribution chamber (with two preserved pilae) and service pit in the south; B, detail of the stamped capital slab and the stamped tiles of the cover of the heating channel of the praefurnium.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 668k
Titre Fig. 7 – Excavation 2021.016 “Bootshaus Basler Ruderclub” at Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland)
Légende A, drone image of the construction supervision in December 2021 with the exposed podium wall; B, podium wall: picture of the red sandstone block that formed the threshold of the lateral porta postica of the southern arena gate.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 971k
Titre Fig. 8 – The castrum of Kaiseraugst/Castrum Rauracense (canton of Aargau, Switzerland) and its suburbium with the various areas of activities
Crédits CAD: C. Zipfel (Augusta Raurica).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/docannexe/image/9822/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 462k
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Jakob Baerlocher et Anna Flückiger, « The periphery of the Castrum Rauracense (Kaiseraugst) during Late Antiquity: Initial synthesis »Gallia [En ligne], 82 | 2025, mis en ligne le 08 janvier 2026, consulté le 09 juin 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/gallia/9822 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/15h4p

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Auteurs

Jakob Baerlocher

Augusta Raurica ; Kantonsarchäologie Aargau, Sammlungszentrum, Schwarzackerstrasse 2, CH-4302 Augst

Anna Flückiger

University of Basel ; Department of Ancient Civilizations, Pre- and Protohistoric and Provincial Roman Archaeology, Petersgraben 51, CH-4051 Basel

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