The regions on the upper Rhine formally became the province of Germania Superior, Upper Germany, during the reign of Domitian, probably around CE 85. Since the Augustan period, they had formed a military zone on the eastern fringes of Gallia Belgica and Gallica Lugdunensis. Moguntiacum (Mainz) at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers was the administrative capital and the site of a legionary base. The province incorporated areas on both sides of the Rhine, the boundaries crossing the Moselle river in the north and reaching in the south as far as Lake Geneva. The areas east of the Rhine extended beyond the Neckar river up to the German limes and its forts, although this region was not organised into civitates until the time of Trajan. The Rhine valley in the northern part of the province, diminished in width by the encroaching Eifel, Voreifel and Pfälzer mountains, opened up west of the river around Mainz to form a broad, fertile landscape, while the valley floor east of the Rhine sloped gently up to the Odenwald mountains. Between the Odenwald and the Taunus range, the Wetterau plain was a densely settled agricultural landscape. The winding Neckar valley equally provided fertile slopes for cultivation. West of the Rhine, the Moselle valley was known for its agricultural productivity and vine-clad slopes. Between the Jura range and the Swiss Alps in the south, the valley of the Aare was sought out for settlement and cultivation. The Alpine passes and the connection of the upper Rhine with the Rhône and Saône rivers assured good trade links with the Mediterranean. Upper Germany was divided during the reign of Diocletian (284-305 CE) into the two provinces of Germania Prima, with its capital at Mainz, and Maxima Sequanorum, with its capital at Besançon.
A famous inscription from the territory of the Lingonian Gauls (Langres) known only from a manuscript of the tenth century records the will of a local hunting enthusiast who ...
This large building north of the forum in Arae Flaviae, ca. 95 meters in width, consisted of several units built at different times. These may represent more than one house, or ...
This house in Insula 1 and 2 in Augusta Raurica, built on sloping terrain on the northern edge of the city around CE 150, was enlarged twenty years later to incorporate at least ...
Insula 30 in Augusta Raurica, east of the central baths, was taken up by a single house built around 200 CE. This house replaced several earlier structures on the site. The ...
Recent excavations in Insula 13 on the northwestern edge of the town of Aventicum have uncovered the remains of two large and luxurious houses separated from each other by a ...
In Insula 16 East, northeast of the forum of Aventicum, were small shops and houses belonging to three different owners. These were demolished when the town was promoted to the ...
The remains of a palatial house (Palais de Derrière la Tour) were recently uncovered in excavations on the western edge of the city in an area characterized by luxurious domestic ...
This rural villa, almost 6000 square meters in size, gives eloquent testimony to the wealth and status of the owner of the rural estate. The estate was built in the second half ...
This villa rustica complex was built on a site at the bottom of a valley near and parallel to the river Limmat. Dietikon was situated on an important land and water traffic route ...
The house of this villa rustica was of the winged corridor type (A in Fig. 1) with a porticoed facade (Fig. 1). Attached to the eastern end of the house, measuring 37 x 46 meters,...
This villa rustica was situated on the northern slope of a valley through which a stream ran. The enclosed area of the farm occupied an area of 3.4 hectares (180 x 190 meters), ...
The enclosed farmyard, including the residential area (pars urbana) and the service zone with outbuildings and working areas (pars rustica), covered an area of 3.5 hectares. The ...
The enclosed area of this villa rustica was 160 meters wide and at least 460 meters long; the eastern limits of the complex have not yet been found. The main residence and bath ...
This large palatial house belonged to a villa rustica revealed by excavation and aerial photography. The enclosed farmyard is calculated to have been approximately 420 x 650 ...
Located 6km south-east of Avenches/ Aventicum, the capital of the Helvetian tribe, this site is situated on a small alluvial terrace at the bottom of a hillside. The area is ...
In 2000-2001, at the time of construction a new judiciary facility, an area of 2000 square meters was excavated at the center of this loop. The results are in large part ...
The results of the 2004 excavation at the Collège Lumière are still under study and the data are therefore still partial. This zone, close to the river and the artisinal quarter ...
Only the residential part of this farm has been excavated. The house with a width of 22 meters had two protruding wings at the south. To the west of the house was an area of ...
The residential and service parts of this villa rustica occupied an area of ca. 7 hectares. The lateral walls of the complex could be followed over a length of 395 meters, but it ...