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Orbe-Boscéaz, also named Boscéay, is an archaeological site located at the territory of the town of Orbe (Vaud). On the site of Boscéaz, five pavilions protect the largest site of Roman mosaic in Switzerland. These mosaics decorated a vast Roman villa built between the first and the third century AD, including private baths and a temple dedicated to Mithra.
The first known mosaics are discovered in 1841. Between 1986 and 2004, the villa was a field school for students in archaeology of université de Lausanne. These excavations allowed the study of the whole residential part of the domain (including the discovery of the ninth mosaic, now being restored). They also allowed to determine that the site was occupied since the Neolithic, but also during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
The whole site is classified by the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance. A welcome center houses a scale model of the villa, an introduction video and a shop.
References:Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.