One small village of indomitable Gauls holds out against the Roman invaders…
Remember that ? Well, it wasn’t this one. Julius C put a stop to that , smartish. He took over the capital of the local Gaulish ( ie Celtic) tribes & transformed it into an important point on the Roman marching routes N/S and E/W through Gaul. But after only a few decades they decided life on top of a big hill miles from the shops was just too much hassle, even though they had several springs , wells and a vast quantity of amphoras of wine stashed up there. Instead , Augustus developed the city of Autun (see this previous post ) down in the valley to replace it. This worked so well that the entire hill settlement of Bibracte was deserted and forgotten for nearly 2 millenia, till some enterprising chap started excavating in the 19th Century, since when it’s become a vast open air museum with ongoing digs all over. It’s fascinating, if rather confusing.
Mostly the excavations are covered by huge temporary roofing, which is held in place by giant weights hanging on each side ( to avoid disturbing the ground with stanchions).
And there are some great views out onto the plains around
Apparently, some of the Gauls haven’t yet heard that the Romans have left, and are still hiding out in the woods, convinced that Caesar has put a reward on their heads…
