La Duche

Discoveries in the Duche car park in 2005

Archaeological excavation during the construction of Nyon’s new underground car park La Duche has revealed features of an as yet unexplored sector of the Roman town, situated on the lakeside and very probably linked to its port activities.  The excavations, conducted by Archeodunum S.A., led to the discovery, among other finds, of monumental piping and a building of which the corner of a portico, decorated with facings and mouldings, has survived. The wealth of decoration and the extent of the means devoted to improving the portico suggest that it was part of a public building.

A new sector to the Roman town

Several discoveries

A portico leaned against a monumental piping

Three bronze statuettes

A set of three beautifully worked bronze statuettes of divinities, preserved with their bases, was discovered behind the piping. The largest statuette is none other than Venus, the wave-born goddess of love. Only the feet are missing from the statuette of Apollo the archer, the twin brother of Artemis-Diana, tutelary deity of the famous oracle of Delphi. The Greek goddess Hecate is very rarely attested in Gaul; the statuette, representing her in triple form as three women standing against a central pillar, is the main piece of the group.