- Bibracte
Bibracte, a Gaulish "
oppidum " or fortified city, was the capital of theAedui and one of the most importanthillfort s inGaul . It was situated near modernAutun inBurgundy ,France . The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the LateIron Age La Tène culture ,In 58 BC, at the
Battle of Bibracte ,Julius Caesar 's armies defeated theHelvetii 16 miles south of the fort. In 52 BC, at BibracteVercingetorix was proclaimed head of the Gaulish coalition. Again at BibracteJulius Caesar , the victor at thebattle of Alesia , completed dictating his "Gallic Wars ". A few decades after the Roman conquest of Gaul, Bibracte was abandoned in favour ofAutun , 25 kilometres distant.Without a continuous settlement to disturb or efface the site, Bibracte remained for modern archaeology to rediscover.The first excavations were begun at the site by the wine merchant Gabriel Bulliot between 1867 and 1895. His nephew
Joseph Déchelette , author of a famous "Manuel d'Archéologie" continued the excavations between 1897 and 1907Today Mont Beuvray is generally credited as the ancient Bibracte. The site straddles the borders of the French départements of
Nièvre andSaône-et-Loire inBurgundy . The site is an archaeological park at the centre of a protected forest, and a site of cooperative European archaeological efforts, a training ground for young archaeologists as well as a centre for interpreting Gaulish culture for a popular audience. Important international excavations take place at Mont Beuvray, with teams from the universities ofSheffield ,Kiel ,Budapest ,Vienna andLeipzig .The city also featured as the Celtic Civilization's default capital in the 2007
Civilization 4 expansion Pack "" for PC.External links
* [http://www.bibracte.fr/index_uk.php Bibracte website] (in English)
* [http://www.athenapub.com/bibmap1.htm "Athena Review" article "Bibracte"]
* [http://home.zonnet.nl/postbus/bibracte-a.html Bibracte, a city of the Gauls]
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