Discovering Brenodorum (half-day)

4 September

Description

A Celtic oppidum surrounded by an imposing rampart occupied from the 3rd to the 1st century BC a loop of the Aare north of the modern city of Bern. A zinc tablet found there bears the inscription in Celtic, revealing the name of this locality: Brenodorum. Although little is known of the occupation during this period, more information exists corresponding to the middle of the 1st century, when the site covered only a very small part of the primitive surface: Outside the ramparts there was cemetery that delivered a great quantity of exceptional archaeological finds and nearby, in the Tiefenau, a deposit of La Tène weapons and iron objects was found. The La Tène period settlement developed into a Roman village, with wooden houses built on both sides of a main road. Craft trades were practiced there. The site houses baths and an important religious centre, as well as an amphitheatre. The vicus was abandoned in the 6th century and there are very few traces of a posterior occupation.

From the Tiefenau Station we will climb towards the Saint-Matthew Parish House where the objects found on the site are exhibited. Then, we will discover the theatre and the religious centre, before entering the forest, in search of the Roman baths. We will then follow part of the ramparts, before returning to our starting point. During the visit, we will be accompanied by Andrea Schaer, the head of the Ancient History and Roman Archaeology Department at the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Berne.

Capacity:

5 - 25 people

Price:

20 EUR (guides and tickets to all visits)

Meeting point:

Train stop "Tiefenau", 9:00

Approximate schedule

 9:00  departure from the meeting point at the bus stop "Bern Tiefenau"
 12:00  end of the visit

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