Archaeologists have uncovered a lost Roman city settlement along the Danube frontier in Austria, revealing a carefully planned town with a street grid and an amphitheater built for about 8,000 spectators.
The settlement lies at Stein in St. Pantaleon-Erla, Lower Austria. Geophysical surveys show that it covered about 25 to 30 hectares, or 62 to 74 acres. Its amphitheater was comparable in size to the one at Carnuntum, a major Roman center farther east. Large public venues were a defining feature of many Roman cities, with similar structures surviving across the former empire, including the Roman amphitheater at Salona in Croatia.
Researchers believe the settlement was occupied from around 80 A.D. to 180 A.D. Evidence suggests people left in an organized withdrawal rather than after a violent attack. Barbara Kainrath of Research Archaeology explained that the archaeological findings suggest that there was a planned withdrawal from the area around 180 A.D. There is no evidence of the settlement being destroyed.
Roman town was unusually large
A Roman stone fort discovered at Stein in 2017 dates to the second century A.D. Later surveys revealed an earlier timber-and-earth fortification from the first century. The military site helped control a Danube crossing near the Aist River. The Aist Valley offered one of the shortest trade routes between the Danube and the Vltava River. Trade played an important role in the development of the Roman province of Noricum, where researchers have found evidence of Roman influence spreading through commerce.
Archaeologists in Austria have uncovered a vast Roman settlement with an amphitheater built for 8,000 spectators.
The 2,000-year-old site may be Claudivium, a long-lost Roman city recorded by ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy. pic.twitter.com/7QZoR5YwkB
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) September 25, 2026
The scale of the civilian settlement is particularly unusual. The nearby auxiliary fort housed about 500 soldiers, yet the planned town extended across as much as 30 hectares. Gerald Grabherr, an archaeologist at the University of Innsbruck, said such a large planned settlement beside an auxiliary fort is unprecedented in the Roman Empire.
Archaeologists also identified a large cemetery northwest of the town. It contained graves, tombs and burial mounds, including some large examples that may point to the presence of wealthy residents. Nearby at Albing, researchers found foundations for a planned legionary camp that was never completed.
Could the settlement be Claudivium?
Researchers are investigating whether the town could be Claudivium, a place recorded by second-century geographer Claudius Ptolemy. The coordinates he gave correspond with the area around Stein. Ptolemy also recorded a river flowing from the north nearby, which researchers believe could be the Aist.
Coin finds indicate the settlement was abandoned around 180 A.D., when Commodus succeeded Marcus Aurelius. Commodus ended the Marcomannic Wars and changed Roman strategy along the Danube. Archaeological discoveries elsewhere north of the river have provided further evidence of Roman military activity during the Marcomannic Wars.
Researchers suggest Claudivium may have been abandoned during that shift, while the legionary base at Lauriacum, present-day Enns, remained in use. Similar bronze-working tools and garment pins found at both sites suggest some residents may have moved there.
Researchers now hope further excavations can clarify the settlement’s identity and history. However, the team says it has yet to secure the long-term funding needed for research on the site at international standards.
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