Argentoratum

Argentoratum was a Roman legionary camp established around 11 BC on the banks of the Rhine, forming the direct predecessor of modern Strasbourg. The castrum occupied the Grande Île, an island encircled by two arms of the Ill river that still defines the city centre today. In 357 AD the site gave its name to one of late antiquity's decisive battles, when Emperor Julian defeated Alamannic forces here and secured the Rhine frontier. No above-ground Roman structures survive, but the old city's street grid still echoes the rectangular layout of the original camp. Archaeological finds from beneath the Grande Île are displayed at the Musée Archéologique de Strasbourg.