Basel-Münsterhügel is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

( late La Tène) fort or ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

'', known as Basel oppidum, constructed by the Gaulish

Rauraci The Rauraci or Raurici were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the Upper Rhine region, around the present-day city of Basel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Rauracis'' and ''Rauracorum'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. ...

after the

battle of Bibracte The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major battle of the Gallic Wars. Prelude The Helvetii, a confederation of Gallic tribes, had begun a total ...

in 58 BC. It the site of

Basel Minster Basel Minster (German: ''Basler Münster'') is a religious building in the Swiss city of Basel, originally a Catholic cathedral and today a Reformed Protestant church. The original cathedral was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and ...

, in the Swiss city of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. The fort was abandoned or destroyed shortly after its construction, before the end of the 1st century BC, with the Roman conquest of the Alps and the establishment of the province of

Gallia Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany. In 50 BC, a ...

. By the early 1st century AD, there was a small

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

on the hill built on top of the ruins of the oppidum, possibly the origin of the name ''Basilia'', from a toponym ''villa Basilia'' "estate of Basilius". In the mid-3rd century, the ruined oppidum was rebuilt as a Roman

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

, fortified with an encircling wall in c. 270. The vicus was abandoned, and the hill served as part of the Roman fortifications of the Rhine against the advancing Alamanni throughout the 4th century. The name ''Basilia'' for the Roman fortification is first mentioned in 237/8, and is named by

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...

as a base used by

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Val ...

in his campaign in Gaul in the 360s. The castle was abandoned after the death of

Flavius Aetius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed pol ...

in 454 and was probably once again in ruins by the 6th century, when the Alamannic settlement was established that would grow into the medieval city of

. The first Basel cathedral was built on the site in the early 9th century (replaced by an early Romanesque structure in c. 999–1025, and by the current late Romanesque church in the 12th century). The site was excavated by Furger-Gunti in the 1970s. There is an older undefended La Tène site at Basel Gasfabrik, not far from the ''oppidum'', which was abandoned after the fort was completed.

References

*René Teuteberg, ''Basler Geschichte'' Christoph Merian Verlag, 2nd ed. Basel 1988. , p. 52. *Andres Furger-Gunti, ''Oppidum Basel-Münsterhügel. Grabungen 1971-72 an der Rittergasse 5'', Jahrbuch SGU, 1974/75, pp. 77–111. *Andres Furger-Gunti, ''Das spätkeltische Oppidum von Basel-Münsterhügel: Der Murus Gallicus'', Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 2, 1972, pp. 165–168. *Andres Furger-Gunti, ''Das keltische Basel'' (1981).

External links

* http://www.andresfurger.ch/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Basel-Munsterhugel Oppida Archaeological sites in Switzerland History of Basel Buildings and structures in Basel Celtic towns 1st-century BC establishments

See also

References

External links