Brigantium, Roman archaeological site in Vorarlberg, Austria

Brigantium was a Roman settlement at an important location near Lake Constance, with houses, roads, and various buildings from the 1st century AD. The excavation site reveals the remains of this town, which was once a significant installation for the region.

After the Roman occupation of the Lake Constance area around 15 BC, the Romans built a wooden-earth camp with an attached vicus on the Ölrain plateau, on the site of a Celtic oppidum. Its remains date from 5 AD, making it the oldest Roman fortress documented in Austria. After the camp was abandoned in the 1st century AD, the settlement grew into a trading hub; in the late 3rd century the focus moved to the hill of today's Oberstadt, where Valentinian I later built the harbour fort Brecantia.

The pottery and tools discovered here show how Roman settlers and Celtic inhabitants lived together in this region. You can see in these objects how different craftsmanship techniques and daily practices blended together.

The remains themselves are partially visible on site, but most findings are displayed at the Vorarlberg Museum in Bregenz. You can visit both locations to gain a fuller understanding of this ancient place's history.

The large Roman cemetery on the Ölrain plateau was used from the 1st to the 5th century AD, documenting nearly 500 years of everyday life in a provincial town. The oldest Roman fort in Austria, its remains date from 5 AD.