Bronze Town Model At Augusta Raurica

A good way to understand an archaeological site is to see the whole of it at once, and at Augusta Raurica, the Roman town near Basel, a large bronze model of the ancient city does that job. It stands in the open air near the museum, and it shows the layout of the Roman town as it may have looked at its height in the second century AD. Because it is cast in metal, it survives the weather, and visitors are invited to touch it, which makes it as useful for children and for visitors with limited eyesight as for architecture students.

Augusta Raurica was founded around 15 BC as a colony on the Rhine and grew into a substantial town with public buildings, workshops and houses laid out on a regular grid of streets. Today what remains above ground is mostly low walls, foundations and a few restored buildings, so it takes imagination to picture the whole. The theatre, the forum with its temple and basilica, the baths, the amphitheatre and the city wall are spread across a large area of fields and village streets in Augst and Kaiseraugst. The model puts them in relation to each other in a single view and shows how the streets, public buildings and residential districts were arranged.

Looking at it, you can trace the main roads and see how the forum stood at the centre, with the theatre to the south and the temple precincts nearby. Houses and workshops occupy the blocks between the streets, and the model distinguishes between richer and poorer districts through differences in building size and layout. You can see where the town's water supply came in, and how the city wall enclosed the central plateau, with the Rhine on the northern edge. The scale is large enough for adults to bend down and follow a street with a finger, which is a good way to appreciate the density of Roman urban life.

The model is best used as an introduction. Visit it first, then walk to the monuments with the layout in mind, or return to it at the end to see where you have been. The museum next to it houses finds from the excavations, including tools, coins, pottery and jewellery, as well as the famous hoard of silver tableware found in the area, and the reconstructed Roman house in the grounds gives a sense of how people lived.

The model is part of the open-air site and is accessible without a ticket, though the museum and house have their own admission and seasonal hours, which should be checked on the Augusta Raurica website. It suits families, school groups, history readers and visitors who want a quick overview before exploring. Allow about fifteen to twenty minutes for the model, and plan a half day for the whole site. Bring a hat and water in summer, and use the paths, which are mostly level and suitable for prams and wheelchairs in the main areas.