Urban House
Province
Location
Sublocation
The Roman town, located at the western end of Lake Geneva at the confluence of the Rhone and Arve rivers, grew from a late first century B.C. settlement of the Gallic tribe of the Allobroges. The town flourished until the third century A.D., and the territory around Geneva attracted many villa owners. There are few remains of Late Roman Geneva, but it appears to have been fortified around A.D. 300 by a circuit wall.
Garden
Urban House
Keywords
Garden Description
This badly preserved building situated on the Plateau des Tranchées was on a terraced slope overlooking Lake Geneva (Lacus Lemanus). Originally built between 20 and 40 A.D., and occupied until 180, the house had a central peristyle courtyard measuring 7.80 x 22 m. in size. Below the peristyle was a terrace where excavations uncovered a deposit 15 cm. thick of organically enriched soil. This evidence suggested to the excavators that the terrace was planted as a garden. Due to subsidence and shifting of masonry walls, the house was rebuilt between 50 and 70 without a peristyle courtyard or a garden terrace.
Plans
None Available
Images
None Available
Bibliography
- M.-A. Haldimann, E. Ramjoué, and C. Simon, "Les fouilles de la cour de l'ancienne prison de Saint-Antoine," Archäologie der Schweiz 14, 1991:194-204. (worldcat)
Places
- Narbonensis (province) Pleiades: 981537
- Gallia Narbonensis (province) TGN: 7030317
- Genava Pleiades: 177528