Navigation

Archaeological find sheds light on Switzerland's Jewish past

The ring found in Augusta Raurica depicts a ram's horn, a typical Jewish symbol Keystone Archive

Swiss archaeologists have found what they believe is the oldest evidence of a Jewish presence in the country - a ring which may be 1,900 years old.

This content was published on August 17, 2001 - 15:03

Officials in canton Aargau said on Friday that researchers excavating the former Roman town of Augusta Raurica had found the ring while digging at the site of a house dating from the second or third century.

The bronze finger ring bears the traditional seven-candle Jewish "menorah" symbol.

It also depicts a ram's horn, symbolizing Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year - and another mark that the archaeologists believe may represent the festival of Sukkoth, which celebrates the fall harvest.

The Augusta Raurica site at Kaiseraugst near Basel is the oldest Roman settlement on the River Rhine, and was founded in around 44 BC. By around 200 AD it had some 20,000 inhabitants, but the settlement declined from the late third century.

swissinfo with agencies

In compliance with the JTI standards

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

Sort by

Change your password

Do you really want to delete your profile?

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

Discover our weekly must-reads for free!

Sign up to get our top stories straight into your mailbox.

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.