Roman bread discovered in Switzerland for the first time

A Roman bread was discovered in Vindonissa, canton of Aargau. Keystone-SDA

Archaeologists have found the charred remains of bread in the Roman settlement of Vindonissa (currently Windisch). According to a press release issued by the canton of Aargau on Wednesday, the find is a rarity. It looks like a small flatbread.

The biscuit-like find had a diameter of ten centimetres and was around three centimetres thick. After the excavation, it was examined in the cantonal archaeology restoration laboratory. Further scientific analyses in a special laboratory in Vienna will reveal the composition of the bread.

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According to the press release, Roman breads only survive if they are burnt, as was the case with bread from the bakery in Roman Pompeii. The finds are therefore extremely rare.

The bread is not the only new find in Windisch. “The remains bear witness to the earliest troop camp in Vindonissa and its fortification system,” the press release adds.

Evidence of a fortification was found in two locations, “which must be older than the well-researched defence system of the legionary camp of the 1st century AD”. Two parallel trenches with traces of posts indicated the line of a timber-earth wall.

To the south of the fortification, the base of a pointed ditch was discovered. This means that the size of the first Roman military camp at Vindonissa can now be estimated for the first time: The north-south extension is said to be almost 400 metres.

Inside the older camp, a building with two groups of rooms in the same layout was found: two small rooms next to a large room with a fireplace.

At another location, evidence of craft activities at the time of the younger legionary camp was found. In addition, metal tools, forging waste, lance and projectile points and a clay oven were found.

A residential development is planned in Windisch on an area of around 4,000 square metres. The building site is located south-west of the Roman legionary camp of Vindonissa. The cantonal archaeology department has been carrying out eleven months of rescue work since mid-August 2025. The archaeological remains will be scientifically documented.

Adapted from German by AI/rg

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