Bibracte, a Gallic oppidum (fortified settlement), was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was located near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the Late Iron Age La Tène culture.
In 58 BC, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar's armies defeated the Helvetii 16 miles south of the fort. In 52 BC, Vercingetorix was proclaimed head of the Gaulish coalition at Bibracte. A few decades after the Roman conquest of Gaul, Bibracte was abandoned in favour of Autun, 25 kilometres away. Once abandoned, Bibracte remained undisturbed and unexamined until discovered by modern archaeology.
Jacques-Gabriel Bulliot initiated the first excavations at the site between 1867 and 1895. His nephew Joseph Déchelette, author of a famous Manuel d'Archéologie, continued the excavations between 1897 and 1907.
The modern site, known as Mont Beuvray, is generally identified as ancient Bibracte. The site straddles the borders of the French départements of Nièvre and Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy. The site is an archaeological park at the centre of a protected forest. It is the focus of cooperative European archaeological efforts, a training ground for young archaeologists, and a centre for interpreting Gaulish culture for a popular audience. Important international excavations have been undertaken at Mont Beuvray by teams from the universities of Sheffield, Kiel, Budapest, Vienna and Leipzig.
On December 12, 2007, the site of Bibracte received the "Great Site of France" designation.
Before the Roman conquest in 52 BC the great Celtic city of Bibracte had more than thirty thousand inhabitants,[1] protected by a huge stone wall of the Murus Gallicus type which enclosed an area of 135 hectares.[2]
^Maschner, H.D.G.; Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Center for Archaeological Investigations (1996). New Methods, Old Problems: Geographic Information Systems in Modern Archaeological Research. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. ISBN 9780881040791. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
^McIntosh, J. (2009). Handbook to Life in Prehistoric Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9780195384765. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
Bibracte, a Gallic oppidum (fortified settlement), was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was located near modern...
The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major battle...
ran thin on 20 June, forcing him to travel towards allied territory in Bibracte. While his army had easily crossed the Saône, his supply train still had...
Gallia. Julius Caesar's armies pursued and defeated them at the Battle of Bibracte, in today's eastern France, forcing the tribe to move back to its homeland...
Paul Reinecke, Joseph Déchelette and Wolfgang Dehn [de] in reference to Bibracte, Manching, and Závist. In particular, Dehn suggested defining an oppidum...
Orgetorix' daughter. A few days later, however, near the Aeduan oppidum Bibracte, Caesar caught up with the Helvetii and faced them in a major battle, which...
Geneva and – after raising two legions – defeated them at the Battle of Bibracte before forcing them to return to their original homes. He was drawn further...
many of whom built large fortified settlements called oppida (such as Bibracte), and minted their own coins. Gaul was never united under a single ruler...
were defeated by Julius Caesar, along with their allies, in the Battle of Bibracte. Caesar settled the remnants of that group in Gorgobina, from where they...
groups in the Alpine region were the Helvetii. In 58 BCE, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar defeated the Alpine tribes, thereby bringing the region...
(Lavault-de-Frétoy), and Bibracte, which occupied a central position in the Aedian economic system. During the Roman period, Bibracte was abandoned for Augustodunum...
Gallico 1.3, 1.9, 1.16-20, 5.5-7 Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus, (Yale University Press, 2006) ISBN 0-300-12048-6 Coins from Bibracte...
(Bourges), Cenabum (Orléans), Autricum (Chartres) and the excavated site of Bibracte near Autun in Saône-et-Loire, along with a number of hill forts (or oppida)...
Augustodunum to give a Roman capital to the Gallic people Aedui, who had Bibracte as their political centre. In Roman times the city may have been home to...
the Jura Mountains near Lac Leman. 49 years later, before the Battle of Bibracte, he led a delegation back to Gaul to negotiate for a safe passage for his...
Reconstruction of the redoubt of Bibracte, a part of the Gaulish oppidum. The Celts utilized these fortified cities in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC....
000 to 10,000 people lived within its 7.2 km long walls. The oppidum of Bibracte is another example of a Gaulish fortified settlement. The term casemate...
58 BC, the legion fought in two major actions, the battles of Arar and Bibracte. They played a central part in Caesar's defeat of the Helvetii tribes,...
Book VII, Section 4: "...in hiberna remissis ipse se recipit die XXXX Bibracte." Rocca, Angelo (1612). De campanis commentarius. Rome: Guillelmo Faciotti...
BC Mithridatic Wars (Third Mithridatic War) 0,084,000 10,000+ Battle of Bibracte !9946 58 BC Gallic Wars 0,024,000 12,000+ Battle of Axona !9946 57 BC Gallic...
Battles/wars Siege of Mytilene Gallic Wars Battle of the Arar Battle of Bibracte Battle of Vosges Battle of the Sabis Battle of the Axona Invasions of Britain...
Global Information
