Bibracte and Swiss History

16 November 2019

One of the crucial events in Switzerland’s history occurred in 58 BC, at the Celtic or Gallic oppidum of Bibracte on the Beuvray mountain in Burgundy, near Autun.

Cesar stopped the migration or advance of the Helvetians (Helvetii) and some other Celtic tribes from northern Switzerland. This battle between the Roman and Celtic tribes is mentioned in De  Gallo Bellico (written by Cesar). Caesar sent the survivors back to their territory in Switzerland to prevent the arrival of the Germanic tribes.

Caesar did not occupy this Swiss region but made allies (Foederati) of the Helvetians and other tribes. He also founded two Roman colonies (Colonia Iulia Equestris (Nyon), on the territory of the Helvetians, and Colonia Augusta Raurica  (Augst), on the territory of the Rauraces.

These cities became centres of romanisation after 15-13 BC. Nyon remained a small town throughout the Middle Ages, while Augst developed into a small fishing village.

Bibracte’s fate was even more uncertain. Scholars first thought that Autun was Bibracte. Bibracte was abandoned after 20 BC, when Autun was founded anew in the early years of Emperor August’s reign, around 20 BC.

The name of the city was Augustodunum. It was the capital of the civitas of the Aedui people. The Celts are known for their fortified oppida on hills, such as Bibracte, but the Romans had other ideas and founded cities at the intersections of the main roads or waterways in the plains.

The first excavations of the Bibracte site began in 1864, following the discovery by Jacques-Gabriel Bulliot (1817-1902) that Autun and Bibracte were distinct cities.

Today, Mont Beuvray is home to an essential European archaeological centre and a museum (www.bibracte.fr).

(Source: D. Tabary, Bibracte – Mont Beuvray, Langres, 2016).