Ancient Roman sites

Dalheim Ricciacum

Dalheim Ricciacum is the site of a well-preserved Gallo-Roman theatre dating from the 2nd century AD. The site was first excavated by the Société Archéologique around 1850 under Antoine Namur (1812–1828). Thousands of objects were discovered, registered and described in three reports. It appears that the settlement grew considerably until by the 3rd century it covered an area of about 25 hectares. In addition to the ...
Founded: 100-200 AD | Location: Dalheim, Luxembourg

Mamer Roman Ruins

The remains of the Roman public baths in Mamer have been reconstructed. During the Gallo-Roman era which lasted until about 450, the Romans built and maintained a number of roads in the area including the Kiem (Latin caminus, road) linking Trier to Reims through what is now Mamer. Mambra was a Romanvicus centred around a villa with thermal baths, sited on the banks of the Mamer River at the eastern end of today"s Mam ...
Founded: 0-200 AD | Location: Mamer, Luxembourg

Aquae Iasae

Aquae Iasae was the Roman settlement and Roman bath in the area of present city Varaždinske Toplice. In the 3rd century BC, in this area lived the Illyrian tribe Jasi, whose name the Romans referred to later in calling this place Aquae Iasae, 'Waters of the Jasi'. The village Jasa, thanks to its springs of water, grew into a significant medical, ceremonial, cultural and economic center of Pannonia Superior. Bu ...
Founded: 0-300 AD | Location: Varaždinske Toplice, Croatia

Aguntum

Aguntum was a Roman site in East Tirol. The city appears to have been built to exploit the local sources of iron, copper, zinc and gold. During the early Christian era the city was the site of a bishopric. The oldest Roman remains are a two-roomed wooden structure discovered beneath the bath house and dated to the mid-first century BC. Aguntum was a mining and trading centre which exploited local sources of iron, copper ...
Founded: 50 BC | Location: Lienz, Austria

Villa Romana di Patti

The Villa Romana di Patti is a large and elaborate Roman villa. It was the seat of a rich latifundium estate, which until its discovery had few known examples except for the Villa Romana del Casale. The villa was discovered in 1973 during construction work on a stretch of the A20 motorway, when part of the north side of the villa was destroyed. Although excavation is continuing and many rooms still need to be revealed, ...
Founded: 2nd century AD | Location: Patti, Italy

Rodange Roman Ruins

The large Trevian oppidum in Rodange dates from the 1st century BC, surrounded by ramparts of a length of nearly 3 km. Gallo-Roman vicus ruins were built between the 1st and the beginning of the 5th century.
Founded: 0-100 BC | Location: Rodange, Luxembourg

Albenga Amphitheatre

Built around the 2nd century AD, the Albenga amphitheater is still the only building of this kind known in the Riviera di Ponente. According to the portions of the wall that re-emerged in the excavations of 1973/75, it is believed that it had an elliptical plan of about 72.80 meters for 52.20 and that it could contain a few thousand spectators.Probably used only for gladiatorial shows, in history it was the scene of the ...
Founded: 2nd century AD | Location: Albenga, Italy

Ategua

Ategua is an Ibero-Roman fortified settlement with substantial archaeological remains stretching into the Middle Ages. Ategua was a great city that already existed from the third millennium BCE on, its wall was erected over a plateau that allowed it to control the whole horizon. The oldest documented archaeological finds at Ategua date from the Late Bronze Age, after which archaeologists have recorded a more or less unbr ...
Founded: 3000-2000 BCE | Location: Córdoba, Spain

Fulfinum

In the cove Sepen, just a few kilometres by air to the south of Omišalj, there is an inexhaustible site of archaeological heritage. The first traces of settling in the area date back into the 1st century when the Roman town Fulfinum emerged. Its emergence is related to the construction of the city for the retired Roman soldiers during the Flavian dynasty. A good geographical position caused the development of seafaring a ...
Founded: 1st century AD | Location: Omišalj, Croatia

Goeblange Roman Ruins

In the Miecher forest extensive remains of a Roman farming community have been found. Two large villas have been excavated and the foundations partially rebuilt. There are other buildings and fortifications on the site which are now being unearthed. Information boards at the site explain that the villas probably date back to the 1st century but were extensively developed in the 4th century. Roman civilization was then th ...
Founded: 0-100 AD | Location: Koerich, Luxembourg

Steinsel Roman Ruins

The rural sanctuary in Steinsel dates from the 1st to the 4th century AD.
Founded: 0-300 AD | Location: Steinsel, Luxembourg

Dalkingen Roman Site

In the neighborhood of the fort of Rainau-Buch, the remains of several other Roman buildings are visible. For instance, there is the ruin of a monumental gate in the limes wall near the modern village of Rainau-Dalkingen, about a kilometer north of the fort. Originally, it was a wooden construction, but it was rebuilt several times. In the final phase, at the beginning of the third century, it must have had a façade li ...
Founded: c. 200 AD | Location: Ostalbkreis, Germany

Raschpëtzer

Raschpëtzer is an artifical aqueduct (qanat) from Roman times, consisting of about 35 wells dug into the rock and linked together by a 600 m main passage and a net of secondary passages, designed to capture the underground water and take it to Roman villas. Raschpëtzer is a particularly well preserved example of a qanat and is probably the most extensive system of its kind north of the Alps. It has been under systemati ...
Founded: 150 AD | Location: Walferdange, Luxembourg

Lellig Roman Ruins

Remains of a Gallo-Roman funeral enclosure lies in the forest Weiler between Mertert and Lellig.
Founded: 0-200 AD | Location: Lellig, Luxembourg

Bruckneudorf Roman Villa

In Roman times the Bruckneudorf area was already densely populated, and Villa Bruckneudorf, one of the most important Roman villas to be discovered in Eastern Austria, is a few kilometres to the east. The villa is presumed to be a residence of the imperial family in the autumn of 375 AD. Today impressive ruins remain. Of the magnificent mosaics, more than 300 m² are still preserved. These are located in the Landesmus ...
Founded: 0-100 AD | Location: Bruckneudorf, Austria

Briga

Briga was a medium sized Roman town that was discovered during the digging of a local road shortly after the French Revolution. From the first century AD onwards, the Romans developed a substantial sanctuary complex on the site of what was a Celtic shrine, as well as the other features one finds at Roman towns, such a theatre, bathhouses and a forum.
Founded: 0 - 200 AD | Location: Eu, France

Mersch Roman Ruins

The large Gallo-Roman villa was built in the 1st century AD with a hypocaust and a 75 m long basin.
Founded: 0-100 AD | Location: Mersch, Luxembourg

Roman Funeral Monument

The funerary monument in Grevenmacher-Potaschberg used to be an imposing 12 m high, but only parts of it have been reconstructed. The decoration includes representations of mythical scenes, as well as scenes from the everyday life of an affluent winemaking family. The monument stands amidst of an enclosed cemetery that invites you to linger.
Founded: 100-200 AD | Location: Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

Montmaurin Gallo-Roman Villa

The Gallo-Roman villa of Montmaurin dates from the first centuryies AD. The most ancient part, the residential section, now open to the public, dates from the 1st century. It was extended and enhanced in the 4th century then remained occupied until the early 6th century. The area where the accommodation and farming outbuildings (forges, brick and tile production, weaving, etc.) stood stretched to the southeast of the bat ...
Founded: 1st century AD | Location: Montmaurin, France

Las Cuevas de Soria Roman Villa

Roman Villa of La Dehesa was used as an agricultural plantation in the 4th century. It has been Heritage of Cultural Interest in the category of Archaeological Sites since 1931. There you can visit a museum and the site to learn more about the family who lived here.
Founded: 4th century AD | Location: Las Cuevas de Soria, Spain

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Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

In 1476 Pskovian masters built a brick belfry east of the cathedral dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The church combines unique features of early Muscovite and Pskovian architecture. A remarkable feature of this church is a bell tower under its dome without internal interconnection between the belfry and the cathedral itself.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, echoing the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, was erected between 1559 and 1585. The frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral were painted in 1684. At the north-western corner of the Cathedral, on the site of the western porch, in 1780 a vault containing burials of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family was built.

In the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by 6 meters high and 3,5 meters thick defensive walls, which proved their worth during the 16-month siege by  Polish-Lithuanian invaders during the Time of Trouble. They were later strengthened and expanded.

After the Upheaval of the 17th century a large-scale building programme was launched. At this time new buildings were erected in the north-western part of the monastery, including infirmaries topped with a tented church dedicated to Saints Zosima and Sawatiy of Solovki (1635-1637). Few such churches are still preserved, so this tented church with a unique tiled roof is an important contribution to the Lavra.

In the late 17th century a number of new buildings in Naryshkin (Moscow) Baroque style were added to the monastery.

Following a devastating fire in 1746, when most of the wooden buildings and structures were destroyed, a major reconstruction campaign was launched, during which the appearance of many of the buildings was changed to a more monumental style. At this time one of the tallest Russian belfries (88 meters high) was built.

In the late 18th century, when many church lands were secularized, the chaotic planning of the settlements and suburbs around the monastery was replaced by a regular layout of the streets and quarters. The town of Sergiev Posad was surrounded by traditional ramparts and walls. In the vicinity of the monastery a number of buildings belonging to it were erected: a stable yard, hotels, a hospice, a poorhouse, as well as guest and merchant houses. Major highways leading to the monastery were straightened and marked by establishing entry squares, the overall urban development being oriented towards the centrepiece - the Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra.

In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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