BERN (Brenodunum?)		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History & Occupation:

In his diaries, Caesar claimed that the Helvetii (the tribe that occupied modern Switzerland) lived in 12 cities and 400 villages. No surprise then that many Swiss towns are built on Roman or Celtic settlements. Outside modern Bern, to the north where the river Aare loops, is a high peninsula that has long been known to contain both Celtic and Roman remains. A pre-Roman zinc plate found here names the settlement Brenodor, and it is now assumed that the latinised name of the site was Brenodunum, though this cannot be confirmed. The fact that the settlement could be classed more as a town or city than a village is clearly supported by the existence of an amphitheatre (not a construction to be found in small villages.) There have been many exploratory excavations in the open woodland here and the evidence suggests that the city was abandoned in the late second or very early third century.

Remains and Visit:

Despite the many excavations here and the clear hints that a great deal remains to be unearthed, only two sites have been left consolidated for viewing (though apparently some of the surrounding walls are visible from the river below.) A bath house deep in the woods is preserved beneath a shelter, and a small amphitheatre sits next to a modern church on the edge of the built-up area. Roman Brenodunum is rarely visited and largely unknown (even the tourist information centre hadn't heard of the ruins!) In the middle of woodland on a bend in the river, a bus-ride away from the modern city and with the only transport across the river being a boatman, this site, despite its lack of great remains, makes a pleasant afternoon out.

Images:

Bath house	Amphitheatre