Gallo-Roman villa of Orbe-Boscéaz
Orbe-Boscéaz, also named Boscéay, is an archaeological site in Switzerland, located at the territory of the town of Orbe.Description
On the site of Boscéaz, there are five pavilions protecting the most important complex of Roman mosaics in Switzerland, with a reception centre. This complex decorated a big Roman villa built between the first and the third century AD, including private baths and a temple dedicated to Mithra.
The first known mosaics have been discovered in 1841., those of the Triton and of the Labyrinth in 1845, the one of the Divinities in 1882, the one with laurel leaves in 1863, and the one of Achilles on the island of Skyros en 1993, under restoration. The first scientific excavations are done only in 1896, and the site is classified as historical monument in 1900. In 1976, aerial photographs show the plan and the extent of the villa, whose residential part was more than 200 meters long.
Between 1986 and 2004, the villa was the school site of the students in archaeology of université de Lausanne. These excavatiuons allowed the study of the whole residential part of the domain. They also allowed to determine that the site has been occupied since the Neolithic, but also during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age
The whole site is classified as Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance. A reception center presents a scale model of the villa, an introduction video and a shop.
