Petinesca is an archeological site on the territory of Studen, a community of the Canton of Bern, in Switzerland, where Celtic and Roman vestiges were found.

Celtic and Roman vestiges

The site lies at the SE edge of the Jensberg mountain. Celtic and Roman

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

were found, some of which are still visible. The site comprises a Celtic fortification (

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 ...

), and a fortified village dating from the

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, as a regional centre dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. till the 4th Century A.D.

Ruins of the Petinesca Roman station

In those times the area was already well colonised. Petinesca was most certainly one of the Roman stations that served to ensure the maintenance and security of one of the main Roman road in Helvetii. The road led from

Aventicum Aventicum was the largest town and capital of Roman Switzerland (Helvetia or Civitas Helvetiorum). Its remains are beside the modern town of Avenches. The city was probably created ''ex nihilo'' in the early 1st century AD, as the capital of ...

(

Avenches Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully. History The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of the ...

) through

Murten Murten (German) or Morat (French, ; frp, Morât ) is a bilingual municipality and a city in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat (also known as Lake Murten). Morat is si ...

Kerzers Kerzers is a municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Its French name is Chiètres (; frp, Chiétres ). History Kerzers is first mentioned in 926 as ''Cartris''. In 1153 it was mentioned as ''Kercers''. ...

and

Kallnach Kallnach (french: Chouchignies) is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2019 the former municipality of Golaten merged into the municipality of Kallnach. History Kallnach i ...

to Salodorum (

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

) and then to

Vindonissa Vindonissa (from a Gaulish toponym in *''windo-'' "white") was a Roman legion camp, vicus and later a bishop's seat at modern Windisch, Switzerland. The remains of the camp are listed as a heritage site of national significance. The city of B ...

( Windisch), along the Eastern part of the Seeland. A bifurcation of the road ran through the steep gorge of

Taubenloch Taubenloch (French: Gorges du Taubenloch) is a gorge in the Canton of Bern, above Biel/Bienne in Switzerland. It crosses the first Jura Mountain chain, as considered from the Swiss Plateau. Location The gorge covers a length of around 2 kilometre ...

and crossed the Jura through the '' Col de Pierre Pertuis'' pass and to

Augusta Raurica Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst. It is the site of the oldest known ...

which led to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

along the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. Via

Witzwil The Justizvollzugsanstalt Witzwil (Prison Witzwil) is a men's prison in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It consists of a closed part and a number of minimum security habitation units. The prisoners work on the institution's huge farm estate on t ...

, a second road crossed the Seeland between the

Lake of Neuchâtel A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and the

lake of Murten Lake Morat or Lake Murten (french: Lac de Morat ; german: Murtensee) is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small bilingual town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore. It is the sm ...

References

* {{Coord, 47.110, N, 7.298, E, type:city_region:CH, display=title Roman towns and cities in Switzerland Archaeological sites in Switzerland Tourist attractions in Switzerland Monuments and memorials in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern

Celtic and Roman vestiges

Ruins of the Petinesca Roman station

See also

References