Alpine passes in Valais in Roman times

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Valais passes

In the Roman Empire , the Great St. Bernhard Pass ( Summus Poeninus or Penninus, 2,469 m) was the most important Alpine crossing between Italy and the northern provinces of Gallia and Belgica . It was also the most direct connection to Britain . The pass was greatly expanded by the Romans. At the top of the pass they built a small temple in honor of Jupiter . On the two oldest milestones in Switzerland, found in 1978 and 1980 near Versvey, from AD 47 north of the Forum Claudii Vallensium ( Martigny ) on the pass route, in connection with the expansion of the pass road over the Great St. Bernhard to Lake Geneva:

Ti (berius) Claudius Drusi f (ilius) | Caesar Aug (ustus) Germ (anicus) | pontif (ex) max (imus) trib (unicia) pot (estate) VII | imp (erator) XII p (ater) p (atriae) co (n) s (ul) IIII | 5 (a) F (oro) C (laudii) A (ugusti) | (milia passuum) XXXVII or XXI

Translation:

Emperor Tiberius Claudius Augustus, son of Drusus, German winner , high priest , in the 7th year of his tribunician power , proclaimed imperator for the 12th time , father of the fatherland , consul for the 4th time . From Forum Claudii Augusti (Martigny) 37 miles (~ 55 km) or 21 miles (~ 31 km).

Connections with Italy

The transition over the Theodulpass is documented by early imperial coin finds, the Monte-Moro and Antronapass are documented by late antique coin finds, as well as the Albrunpass and the Nufenenpass . The Simplon Pass (ital. Sempione) connects Novara with the Valais and represents the shortest connection between the Valais and Milan . Since the Gotthard Pass was probably not used in Roman times, the Simplon via Grimsel and Furka passes was the fastest connection to the central part of the Alps and to the upper Rhine.

There is evidence that the Simplon was expanded and repaired in 195 AD under Emperor Septimius Severus for an amount of 22,600 sesterces. However, there are currently no coins found at the top of the pass. There are no documented crossings; It was only after the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 489 that the Burgundian king Gundobad is said to have crossed the Simplon from Valais towards Italy with his horde.

On the north side of the Valais, the following passes have been proven to have been used by the Romans: The Lötschenpass and Gemmipass formed the connection with the Bernese Oberland ; they are evidenced by early imperial coin finds. The Lötschenpass was probably also used as a pilgrimage route, as there was an important Roman sanctuary in Thun -Allmendigen (Bernese Oberland).

Roman road construction in the Alps

The first paths and roads led over old paths, often paved by the predecessors of the Romans , such as those over the Septimer , Splügen , Simplon , Great St. Bernhard or Montgenèvre . But the road construction soon expanded to include other passes that had been crossed before, but were less important, such as the Little St. Bernhard , Grimsel, San Bernardino , Reschen , Plöcken or Brenner . Hostels, so-called mansiones (singular: mansio), have also been built, while customs stations were mostly in the valley, especially where the provincial borders met. Even if the Roman rule on the Alpine region z. In some cases, it spanned hardly more than three centuries, this was the most extensive upheaval in this region since the Neolithic revolution , and in many regions there was no major upheaval until the advent of tourism . The influence of a great empire with its high culture, financial strength, infrastructure and state order on a simple, if by no means culturally-devoid region like that of the Alps had consequences that can still be felt and seen in the entire Alps today.

literature

  • Gerold Walser : Summus Poeninus. Contributions to the history of the Great St. Bernard Pass in Roman times . Steiner, Wiesbaden 1984 (Historia individual writings, 46) ISBN 3-515-04183-4
  • Gerold Walser: Via per Alpes Graias. Contributions to the history of the Little St. Bernhard Pass in Roman times . Steiner, Stuttgart 1986 (Historia Einzelschriften, 48) ISBN 3-515-04541-4
  • Gerold Walser: Studies on the history of the Alps in ancient times . Steiner, Stuttgart 1994 (Historia Einzelschriften, 86) ISBN 3-515-06498-2
  • Uwe A. Oster: Paths across the Alps. From the early days until today . 160 pages with numerous illustrations, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-89678-269-X

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See e.g. B. Planta, A .: To the Roman way over the Great St. Bernhard. In: Helvetia Archeologica 10 (1979), pp. 15-30.
  2. ↑ Cf. Gerold Walser: Roman inscriptions in Switzerland selected, photographed and explained for school lessons. III. Part: Valais, Ticino, Graubünden. Milestones from all over Switzerland. Bern: Haupt, 1980, No. 317, pp. 158-159, 172. Theodor Mommsen: Inscriptiones Confoederationis Helveticae Latinae. Zurich: Meyer & Zeller, 1854. (Announcements of the Antiquarian Society in Zurich, Vol. 10), No. 322. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinum. Vol. 12, No. 5528 = Vol. 17/2, No. 124. Ernst Howald; Ernst Meyer: Roman Switzerland. Texts and inscriptions with translation. Zurich: Niehans, 1941, p. 377. Georg Walser: The Roman roads in Switzerland. Vol. 1 (1967), p. 15. François Mottas: Milliaires et vestiges des voies romaines du canton de Vaud. In: Archäologie der Schweiz 3 (1980), No. 3, pp. 154–168.
  3. ↑ Steffan Bruns: Alpine passes - from the mule track to the base tunnel.