Archaeologists have completed an 11-month rescue excavation at a planned housing site on Zürcherstrasse in Windisch, Switzerland, uncovering new evidence about the earliest Roman military camp at Vindonissa.
The Cantonal Archaeology Department finished the project in mid-July after investigating a construction site covering about 4,000 square meters. The excavation, funded through a special government allocation, documented archaeological remains before a planned residential development could destroy them.
Excavation confirms layout of the earliest camp
One of the most important discoveries was the southern timber-and-earth defensive wall of Vindonissa’s first military camp. More than 90 years after archaeologists first identified a V-shaped defensive ditch nearby, the new excavation confirmed the wall’s route and its matching ditch.
Researchers found the fortification about 70 meters south of the wall of the later Roman legionary fortress. The defensive line then turned northwest just beyond the excavation area. The discovery provides the clearest picture yet of the camp’s size and layout and offers strong evidence that its defenses extended beyond the excavated site.
Researchers have not yet been able to determine the exact construction date of the fortification. Current evidence suggests it was built during the early years of Emperor Tiberius’ reign. Signs of pioneer vegetation inside the filled ditch also indicate the defenses were left without maintenance for a considerable period before being repaired and reused.
Buildings reveal daily life inside the settlement
The excavation also revealed details of daily life inside the camp. Beneath a later Roman road, archaeologists uncovered a large building measuring about 9 meters wide and at least 30 meters long. Its series of evenly arranged rooms and entrances suggests it served as barracks for Roman legionaries.
Just inside the camp’s original defensive wall, the team discovered the remains of what may have been a bread oven, likely part of a workshop and production area. Nearby, archaeologists uncovered the hearth of a carefully built field forge inside an even older structure dating to Vindonissa’s earliest phase of occupation.
Artifacts span centuries of Roman occupation
Deep rubble layers outside the legionary fortress produced hundreds of artifacts spanning several centuries. Researchers recovered coins dating from the Roman Republic to Late Antiquity, along with blacksmithing tools, leatherworking equipment, and the lower stone of a Roman hand mill.
Among the standout discoveries were a remarkably preserved loaf of bread, which is still under study, and a rare gold aureus minted during the reign of Tiberius.
Archaeologists also found a one-centimeter carnelian gemstone engraved with Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, holding a staff and wreath, as well as two objects believed to have served as handles for Roman surgical scalpels.
Excavation clears the way for development
A team of about 20 archaeologists excavated through winter snow and summer heat without a seasonal break. Careful planning and close coordination with developers allowed the site to be handed over for construction on July 17, 2026.
The new residential development, named Via Romana, will now rise above a site whose Roman past has been carefully preserved for future study.
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