Basel-Münsterhügel is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

( late La Tène) fort or ''

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

'', known as Basel oppidum, constructed by the Gaulish Rauraci 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 Switzerland, Swiss city of Basel, originally a Roman Catholic cathedral and today a Continental Reformed church, Reformed Protestant church. The original cathedral was bu ...

, in the Swiss city of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. 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 Roman province, 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 German ...

. 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 ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

, 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 The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

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 anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

as a base used by

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

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

Flavius Aetius Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman Empire, Roman general and statesman of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most inf ...

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). *Guido Lassau, Peter-Andrew Schwarz (ed.), ''Auf dem langen Weg zur Stadt. 50 000 v. Chr.–800 n. Chr''. Stadt.Geschichte.Basel, vol. 1, Christoph Merian Verlag 2024, ISBN 978-3-03969-001-5

External links

* http://www.andresfurger.ch/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Basel-Munsterhugel Oppida Archaeological sites in Switzerland History of Basel Buildings and structures in Basel Celtic towns Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC La Tène culture Iron Age sites in Europe

See also

References

External links