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Introduction The forum Houses and workshops The amphitheatre |
In Nyon, on the western shore of the Lac Léman and some 23 kilometers to the north of Geneva, the remains of a city lie buried beneath the old town centre. The name Nyon comes from the name of an older Celtic settlement, mentioned for the first time in late antiquity: Noviodunum (civitas Equestrium id est Noiodunus, Notitia provinciarum et civitatum Galliae IX; Novidunensis municipii, Vita S. Romani 13). A colony was founded here by Julius Caesar in 45-44 BC. It was called Colonia Iulia Equestris, indicating that it was populated by cavalry veterans, from Italy. The name is mentioned by Pliny the Elder (Naturalis Historia IV,106), and is found in inscriptions, in the Itinerarium Antonini, on the Tabula Peutingeriana, and in the Ravenna Cosmography. The city was usually called Colonia Equestris, the full name is found in three inscriptions, from Nyon, Geneva, and Mochenwangen in Germany.
Q(uinto) SEVERIO Q(uinti) SEVERI
MARCELLI FILIO
CORNEL(ia) M[a]RCIANO
DEC(urioni) COL(oniae) I[u]L(iae) EQVES[t(ris)]
AEDIL(i) PR[ae]FECT(o) PRO
IIVIRIS [pra]EFECT(o)
ARCE[ndis l]ATROC(iniis)
IIVI[r(o) bis? fla]m(ini) Au[g(usti)]
[---]For Quintus Severius, of Quintus Severius
Marcellus son,
of the tribe Cornelia, Marcianus,
city councillor of the Colonia Iulia Equestris,
aedile, prefect in place of
the mayors, prefect
for warding off gangs of robbers,
twice mayor, priest of the Emperor
[---]Limestone block (base of a statue?), found in Nyon in 1978 (reused in a cellar). W. 0.64, h. 0.53, d. 0.51.
Kolb et al. 2022, nr. 20. Photo: EDCS-09200396. The inscription found in Geneva is EDCS-09201066.
L(ucius) CVSSEIVS
OCELLIO
FECIT
COL(onia) IVL(ia) EQ(uestri)Lucius Cusseius
Ocellio
made it
in the Colonia Iulia Equestris.Bronze plaque. W. 0.04, h. 0.06.
It was attached to to a small wooden canteen.
Found in a grave in Mochenwangen, Germany.
Photo: Arachne 2413019. Drawing: EDCS-30500950.There were a few archaeological investigations in the second half of the 19th century, to be resumed in 1932. A first Musée romain was founded in 1860. In 1979 a new, underground museum was built at the spot of the basilica, which was discovered in 1974.
Plan of the city. D. Paunier, "Colonia Iulia Equestris", Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.An extra complication for the situation in Nyon is that, in late antiquity and afterwards, objects were apparently transported to Geneva and its surroundings, to be used as building material. For example, in 2012 an inscription on the base of a statue of the Emperor Elagabalus, set up by the Equestres in 218 AD, was found in Carouge, a suburb of Geneva (EDCS-66100010).
Introduction
The forum
Houses and workshops
The amphitheatre
Literature
See also the link on the homepage. Roux 1877; Pélichet 1942; Drack 1950, 101-102; Dürr-Bögli 1956; Von Gonzenbach 1961, 153-160; Frei-Stolba 1974; Kaenel-Tuor 1978; Bonnard 1988; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 452-457; Morel-Amstad 1990; Drack-Fellmann 1991, 190-194; Rossi 1995; Frei-Stolba 1996; Frei-Stolba et al. 1998; Hauser-Rossi 1999; Bossert 2002(2); Frei-Stolba 2003; Frei-Stolba 2004(1); Frei-Stolba 2004(2); Bossert 2007; Anderes 2009; Cramatte 2009 (with Revue historique vaudoise 114 (2006), 328-331); Frei-Stolba et al. 2009; Frei-Stolba 2011; Brunetti-Henny 2012; Ruffieux et al. 2013; Bürge et al. 2013, 86-87; Genequand-Aliquot 2014; Aberson-Fuchs 2017; Aberson et al. 2017; Speidel 2021.
[28-Feb-2024]
