Gergovia

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Coordinates: 45 ° 43 '13.7 "  N , 3 ° 7' 7.2"  E

Archaeological Museum on the Gergovia plateau

Gergovia ( French Gergovie ) was the main fortified settlement of the Arverni , a Gallic tribe. The oppidum , fortified in the early Hallstatt period , was located near what is now Gergovie, a small town near Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne in the Puy-de-Dôme department . This village was previously called Merdogne and was only given its current name in 1865 by Napoleon III. It belongs to the commune of La Roche-Blanche in the Puy-de-Dôme department .

Fortified church of Gergovie (1570)

During the Gallic War , Julius Caesar tried in 52 BC BC in vain to take the oppidum located on a high plateau in which the Gallic troops under Vercingetorix had holed up. His army suffered heavy losses in this battle of Gergovia .

The plateau was still being used for agriculture in the 19th century

Excavations in 2006 uncovered a Gallo-Roman temple complex from the period after the Roman conquest. In 2019, an archaeological museum was opened at the site of the battle.

literature

D. Leguet, D. Tourlonias: Gergovie. In: Guides archéologiques de l'Auvergne. Clermont-Ferrand 1996.

Individual evidence

  1. Gergovia: Where Caesar Failed - Excavations for Volunteers - Adventure Archeology in France on archaeologie-erlebnis.eu.