Editing Nyon (section)

===Noviodunum===
{{main|Noviodunum (Switzerland)}}
It was founded by the Romans between 50 and 44 BC under the name of Colonia Iulia Equestris or Colonia Equestris Noiodunum, the urban center of which was called Noviodunum.<ref name=HDS_Colonia>{{HDS|12283|Colonia Iulia Equestris}}</ref> It grew to be one of the most important Roman colonies in modern-day Switzerland, with a [[forum (Roman)|forum]], a [[basilica]] and an [[amphitheater]] that was discovered only recently, in 1996, when digging for the construction of a new building.

At Roman contact, the country round the town was held by the [[Helvetii]]. The town's importance is reflected in its numerous mentions in ancient sources.  The [[Antonine Itineraries]] place the town on the road from Geneva to [[Lacus Lausonius]] (near [[Lausanne]]). It is first mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (''H.N.'', iv. 7), and then by [[Ptolemy]] (ii. 9), who assigns it to the [[Sequani]]. Pliny and Ptolemy simply name it Equestris; and so it is named in the Itineraries. On some inscriptions it is called ''Civ. Equestrium'' (short for Civitas Equestrium), and ''Col. Julia Equ.'' (short for Colonia Julia Equestris) from which some have concluded that it was founded by [[Julius Caesar]]. In the [[Notitia Dignitatum|Notitia]] it is called ''Civ. Equestrium Noiodunum'' (short for Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum). The district in which Nyon stands is called ''Pagus Equestricus'' in a document of the year 1011; and it is said that the people of the country as of the 18th century still called this district ''Enquestre''. ([[D'Anville]], Notice, &c.; Walckenaer, Géographie, &c., des Gaules, vol. ii. p.&nbsp;316.)

Noviodunum was part of a loose network of settlements that radiated out from [[Lugdunum]] (modern [[Lyon]], France) and helped to control the Rhone Valley. It served, along with other Roman colonies in the area, to control the Helvetii who were settled in the area against their will after their defeat at the [[Battle of Bibracte]] in 58 BC.

A rectangular grid pattern divided the area of the wall-less city. A monumental center, housing everything needed for the economic, religious and social life of the colony, was established. Only portions of this first forum have been discovered. At its east end was a two-story basilica. Grid-like residential streets radiated out from the center.<ref name=HDS_Colonia/>

Under [[Tiberius]], the forum was expanded and redesigned into a familiar pattern for the provinces. The sacred area was surrounded on three sides by [[colonnade]]s, which were built on half-sunken [[Cryptoporticus]]. Two outbuildings, including most likely the seat of the [[Curia]], flanked the building.  A market building ([[macellum]]) with a central courtyard around which were the sales rooms, and the baths ([[tepidarium]] with geometric shapes and [[mosaic]]s) were renovated. The forum witnessed further transformations, particularly the establishment of another large building.  During the same building phase a large mosaic on the central part of the north portico was built.<ref name=HDS_Colonia/>

The amphitheater, which was discovered in 1996, was probably built in the early 2nd century AD. Its [[arena]], which was flanked by two prisons and provided with sewers, is about {{convert|50|by|36|m|ft}}. The ruins of the theater, that should have been in the Colonia, have not been discovered.<ref name=HDS_Colonia/> The residential quarters consisted of modest homes, in addition to some [[domus|domi]] with gardens and pools. The buildings were originally made of wood and clay, but after the mid-1st century AD were built from masonry. Some [[villa suburbana]] stood in the west of the village, while the artisan and merchant quarter, presumably, developed in the southwest. A {{convert|10|km|mi|0|abbr=off|adj=mid|-long|spell=on}} [[Roman aqueduct|aqueduct]], which ran from the Divonne area to the colony, provided the water supply. Sewage canals, that followed the road networks, dumped sewage into the lake.<ref name="HDS_Colonia" />