Experts believe this settlement was crucial for commerce and record-keeping—all part of a plan to build a much larger urban center. The urban site was never completed, but artifacts show plans were in place. Northern Switzerland, it turns out, was very close to having a major Roman urban center in the late first century C.E. Related Story Archaeologists Found a Burned Roman SettlementConsidering the presence of a Roman legion nearby in Vindonissa, the site along the river was likely planned as a major urban center. Any proper Roman urban center and administrative seat would have needed a proper storehouse for fish sauce.