Without digging: How the severe heat wave revealed a lost 2,000-year-old Roman city

An extreme heat wave in Switzerland has uncovered remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman residential quarter in Aventicum. Drone photography revealed villas, roads, bathhouses, and a structure suspected to be a temple. Researchers call it the most significant discovery in the area in 50 years.

An extreme heat wave that struck Switzerland in July and August 2026 led to an extraordinary archaeological discovery: the drying of vegetation revealed remains of a Roman residential quarter about 2,000 years old in the area of the Roman city of Aventicum. Drone photography uncovered villas, roads, bathhouses, and a structure about 30 meters long suspected to be a temple. Researchers describe the findings as the most significant discovered in the area in the last half-century. The scientific principle: above buried structures, the soil layer is thinner, so vegetation withers quickly during drought. The window of opportunity was short – with the drop in temperatures in September and the regrowth of vegetation, many of the sites disappeared again. The article connects the Roman period in Europe with events in the Land of Israel at the same time, including the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kokhba revolt.