Description : Bibracte, a Gallic oppidum or fortified settlement, was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in late Iron Age Gaul, with a 5.2 km long rampart of murus gallicus type and a population estimed to 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants. It is situated near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. In 58 BC, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar's armies defeated the Helvetii 16 miles south of the oppidum. In the summer of 52 BC, Vercingetorix was confirmed as the 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. Its location on Mont Beuvray has been definitely acquired by the extensive excavations started on the hill in the 1860s. 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 site is presently organized as an archaeological park. It is the focus of cooperative European archaeological efforts, a training ground for young archaeologists, and a centre for interpreting the earliest urbanization north of the Alps for a popular audience. On December 12, 2007, the site of Bibracte received the "Great Site of France" Label.
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