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Claudium Virunum was a Roman city in the province of Noricum, on today's Zollfeld in the Austrian State of Carinthia. Virunum was founded under Emperor Claudius as the capital of the province of Noricum. The new Roman foundation was situated on the main route from the Adriatic to the Danube, with a branch through south eastern Carinthia connecting Virunum with the Amber Road.
From AD 343 Virunum is known to have been a bishop's see. Little is known about the decline of the city. Being unfortified and situated in a flat valley, during the Migration Period the city was probably partly or totally evacuated by its inhabitants, who left for the surrounding hills such as Ulrichsberg or Grazerkogel.
The city proper covered an area of about 1 km². Extensive and systematic excavations took place from end of the 19th century until 1931. Further excavations were not undertaken until the end of the 20th century culminating in the excavation of the amphitheatre.
Apart from the city capitol, a Dolichenum for the military god Jupiter Dolichenus was excavated, inscriptions have been discovered proving the existence of two Mithraea, and in 1999 two votive relief plates were found from a Nemesis temple near the amphitheatre. Proof of an early Christian church, whose existence had been presumed for a long time, has recently been found in the northern section of the city.
A proper Roman theatre with a stage, the only one known in all Noricum, as well as elliptic amphitheatre were situated on the slope of Töltschach Hill. A large building further east is believed to have been the palace of the Praeses or provincial governor.
References:The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.
The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.