Swiss Roman Battle Site Reveals Hidden Secrets Of Historic Clash

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Bip... bip... BEEEEEP... BEEEEEEEEEEEP. Using powerful metal detectors, archaeologists sweep a steep grassy hill on the hunt for ancient swords and further evidence of a key battle between the Romans and a local tribe.

On the Alpine meadow in southeast Switzerland, other colleagues kneel or sit, scraping small holes with trowels and handheld sensors. Bright yellow flags marking earlier finds flap in the wind on the verdant slope next to large sods of earth.

The peaceful setting on the flank of the idyllic Julier Valley, south of Chur, belies a violent past. Two years ago, an amateur archaeologist re-ignited interest in the site after discovering a spectacular 2,000-year-old dagger with a metal detector. Swiss historians now believe an important battle took place on this remote mountainside around 15 BC between Roman troops advancing northwards through the Alps and local Suanetes fighters that marked a historical turning point: the start of the Roman occupation of Switzerland.

Standing at the top of the field, Peter-Andrew Schwarz sucks on his pipe and looks proudly over his team of young university students and volunteers.

“I tell my students that this is probably the first and only time in their careers that they have a possibility to work on a battlefield, a Roman battlefield here in Switzerland,” says Schwarz, an archaeology professor at the University of Basel.

In their hi-vis jackets, the archaeologists are hard to miss. Anouck Duttweiler attacks the tough dry earth with a small trowel. It's her third day on the dig but already the second-year archaeological student from Basel has unearthed many interesting objects.

“At many digs you have to work for ages until you find something that says something, but here you find slingshot bullets and other things from a real battlefield,” she says.

Dotted across Switzerland, elegant columns, villas, amphitheatres and other remains of ancient settlements bear witness to life under the Romans. But up to now, no battle sites had been identified and researched on Swiss territory.

Over the past two years, however, around 40 scientists from the universities of Basel and Zurich, along with volunteer detectorists, have unearthed thousands of Roman military artefacts littering the rolling meadow. These include ancient swords, slingshot bullets, brooches, coins, fragments of shields and several thousand Roman hobnails. This autumn alone, around 250-300 objects a day were recovered during a three-week dig. The digging phase is now officially over. Yet many open questions remain: what exactly happened on this bucolic meadow over 2,000 years ago? And what was the precise historical context of the epic bloody struggle?

Roman rule in Switzerland

At the start of the third century BC, the Romans conquered the area of present-day southern Ticino in Switzerland's Italian-speaking region. Some 75 years later, they had managed to seize control of southern France, the Rhone Valley, including Geneva, and the route from Italy to Spain.

Roman rule was gradually strengthened by the establishment of colonies, mostly in western Switzerland. Their control of the Alps was long, however. Roman troops repeatedly advanced into the mountains through the first century BC. Roman historiansExternal link suggest various reasons for these campaigns: to quell unrest and prevent raids and attacks on travellers, the need to secure a transit route to Germany, and additional tax revenues.

What archaeological clues tell us about the battle

Earlier finds, such as coins and slingshot bullets, made at a Roman military camp further south, provided important clues about the chronology of the Julier Valley battle. The camp at the Septimer mountain pass is thought to be the Roman soldiers' last stop before they fought with the Suanetes further down the valley.

MENAFN15122023000210011054ID1107602035