Foundation Colonia Iulia Equestris was most likely founded by Julius Caesar in 46–44 BC. It was established on land taken from the
Helvetii as a
Colonia for cavalry veterans. The original functions of the Colonia were to provide land for veterans and military bases in conquered territory. Noviodunum was part of a loose network of settlements that radiated out from
Lugdunum (modern
Lyon,
France) and helped to control the Rhone Valley. It served, along with other Roman colonies in the area, to control the Helvetii who were settled in the area against their will after their defeat at the
Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC.
The early Colonia The first colonists received land lots, which had been divided into uniform units, known as centurions. Traces of the ordered system have been found in recent studies. Under Emperor
Augustus, the colony experienced a boom. A rectangular grid pattern divided the area of the wall-less city. A monumental center, housing everything needed for the economic, religious and social life of the colony, was established. Only portions of this first
forum have been discovered. At its east end was a two-story
basilica, whose ground floor was divided, by a centrally located row of wooden columns, into two
naves. Within the basilica, there were, probably, public baths or
thermae. Under
Tiberius, the forum was expanded and redesigned into a familiar pattern for the provinces. The sacred area was surrounded on three sides by
colonnades, which were built on half-sunken
cryptoporticus. In the center would have been the main temple, though the remains of that building have not been discovered. A new basilica was built. It now consisted of a nave with two
vestibules, the nave was enclosed by a colonnade, which formed a gallery. Two outbuildings, including most likely the seat of the
Curia, flanked the building. A market building (
macellum) with a central courtyard around which were the sales rooms, and the baths (
tepidarium with geometric shapes and
mosaics) were renovated. The forum witnessed further transformations, particularly the establishment of another large building. During the same building phase a large mosaic on the central part of the north portico was built. The
amphitheater, which was discovered in 1996, was probably built in the early 2nd century AD. Its
arena, which was flanked by two prisons and provided with sewers, is about . The ruins of a theatre, that should have been in the Colonia, have not been discovered. The residential quarters consisted of modest homes, in addition to some
domi with beautiful gardens and pools. The buildings were originally made of wood and clay, but after the mid-1st century AD were built from masonry. Some
villa suburbana stood in the west of the village, while the artisan and merchant quarter, presumably, developed in the southwest. A long
aqueduct, which ran from the Divonne area to the colony, provided the water supply. Sewage canals, that followed the road networks, dumped sewage into the lake. The city remained unwalled throughout its history. However, from the location of cemeteries, it appears that the city did not expand. Cremation graves were discovered in the north of the square of Perdtemps and in Clémenty. Iulia Equestris was a colony in Roman law with close ties to
Vienne, the capital of the
Allobroges. The city was governed by two
duumviri which presided over the
decurion council. At times the
duumviri were replaced by a
praefectus pro duumviri. The city also had an official list of
aediles and a
praefectus arcendis latrociniis who was commissioned to combat banditry. The
Flaminica Augustae were responsible, along with a six-member college of priests (seviri Augustales), for the
imperial cult.
Decline After a long period of peace and prosperity, signs of crisis and general insecurity were increasing in the early 3rd c As a result of
Alamanni invasions of 259 or 260 AD, the forum and the public buildings in the city were razed. The stone blocks were scattered all over the Lake Geneva region. The stones were re-used as building material, especially in Geneva, where about 300 were used in the construction of the wall. But the settlement was not abandoned and a number of signs of settlements after the 3rd century have been discovered. These include the large
necropolis at Clémenty which has tombs from the 5th to 8th centuries, the stone box graves in the Grand-Rue, near an
early medieval building with
apses, and the mention of a Civitas Equestrium in the Notitia Gallic around 400 AD. Nyon-Noviodunum, which had already lost much of its prestige and reputation was as a regional capital, now separated from Geneva. Geneva became the center and seat of the diocese which initially fought to administer the territory that had been part of the Colonia.
Rediscovery In the 18th century, there were sporadic discoveries of Roman items from the Colonia. Due to the research of local scholars, especially Théophile Wellauer, in the 19th century these discoveries became frequent and regular. In 1841, the municipality set up a museum to store, catalogue, research and display the items that had been found. In 1875, Johann Jakob Müller published in Zurich the first overall map of the Colonia. In 1974, the significant discovery of the
basilica in the
forum, gave the research additional momentum. In 1979, a new museum dedicated to the Roman Colonia was built near the basilica. ==Colonia site==