We owe the beginnings of archeology in Nyon to Théodore Wellauer. In 1860, the school teacher created a museum that eventually found room at the Castle at the end of the 19th century, after it was promoted as a municipal institution. As a lucky coincidence, the fortuitous discovery of the Roman forum basilica in 1974 occurred at a time when the museum had started feeling a bit short of space.

After a lot of negotiating, all of the Castle's Roman collections were shifted to this new museum, which was delimited by the foundations of a monument from the 1st century Over the years, this particular link between the museum and the archeological site became more significant as more discoveries were made on the site, thus contributing to a permanent development of the collections. These collections depict, with a touch of humor, the daily life of our Roman ancestors, with some surprisingly well-preserved mosaics, in particular. Thus we learn that they were fond of oysters and snails, that they introduced viticulture into Helvetia, that they made use of blushers and perfumes, and even that they resorted to mortar, a mixture of sand and lime, for their buildings. A bit like us indeed, but 2000 years back!

For more information:

Site of the Roman museum in Nyon: http://www.mrn.ch/

The Museum set up a series of activities for children, to let them explore the Roman legend, investigate the museum, create the front of a temple, become initiated to mosaic and even drape the way Romans used to.

Nyon's International Archeology Film Festival: a creation of the Roman museum conducted every alternate year, for the general public. This time, it's too late: the 2007 edition is over and you will have to wait until 2009 for the next one!

Photo: Roman Museum, Rémy Gindroz La Croix/Lutry