A sensational Swiss discovery thanks to volunteers: archaeology for all

The remains of a Roman military camp over 2,000 years old have been discovered at an altitude of 2,200 metres in eastern Switzerland. The excavation in Tiefencastel, in the Oberhalbstein region of canton Graubünden, was initiated by a tip-off from a volunteer detectorist. They identified a conspicuous terrain feature in the Colm la Runga corridor using high-resolution digital LiDAR terrain data from the Swisstopo Geoinformation Centre. The Graubünden Archaeological Service has classified the find as internationally significant. What makes this discovery so remarkable? The site is believed to be the highest military camp of the Roman Empire ever discovered. The new evidence also provides greater clarity on the Roman campaign in the Alps, suggesting a route from Lake Como through Bregaglia, over the Septimer Pass to Tiefencastel, and onwards towards Chur and the Alpine Rhine Valley. The role of terrain data LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data, used for creating three-dimensional ...