Gallic Chieftain Virdovix,

 Doomed Gallic Chieftain Virdovix 

Victrix chieftain Virdovix

I have painted the plastic Victrix gaul to represent the Gallic Chieftain Virdovix, he lead the Uenelli, Aulerci and Lexovii federated tribes (all local western tribes in cotentin peninsula and Normandy) in rebellion against the Romans incursions in 57BC and 56BC.

Three Roman legions lead by Quintus Titurius Sabinus campaigned in the peninsula in 56BC to put down the local uprisings by the Uenelli, Lexovii and Aulerci Federations after they had removed their tribal senators and rebelled against Caesars treaty. Sabinus then built a 3 legion encampment at Petit-Celland (close to modern Avranches) to control the area overlooking the Vire valley.

Virdovix, wth his federated army besieges the Romans but Sabinus refuses to be drawn to battle, the gauls daily taunting his cowardice for several days trying to draw him out to fight them.

Sabinus deceives the gauls that he was departing the encampment by sending a gallic auxiliary deserter to convince theVirdovix that the majority of the Roman army was in fear, had low morale were lacking in food and were deserting. Sabinus was withdrawing the following morning early to join Caesar in the south who was fighting the Veneti ( Nantes). Sabinus however places one legion at each gate in along with auxiliary cavalry.

The following morning the Roman commence the apparent departure and the gallic assault commences, Sabinus coordinates the two other legions departing from the encampments other gates to assault the flanks and the rear of the gallic attackers by the auxiliary cavalry. Many of the Gauls were killed pressed between the fortifications and the Roman legions on each flank. The Auxiliary cavalry follow up the fleeing gauls turning it into a slaughter, Virdovix is killed in the fighting at the battle of Vernix and the tribes sue for peace.


Cheers
Matt

Auluerci Diablintes tribesmen IX

Another unit off the table the final naked unit, now to complete some more plaid!

Cheers
Matt

Gallic disorder markers

An addition I always like to add for my games as I build a army, disorder markers and dead casualty markers. I must have several hundred shields from different armies plus a lot of transfers for them. Getting sick of plaid and eyes again so I knocked these up yesterday as a little break from detail work, a nice  addition to the table. More coming from different periods, now I need more round bases!

Cheers
Matt

Gaullic Oppidum Moulay

Gallic Oppidum

Very close to our Maison is one of the ten largest Oppida, walled Gallic cities in France and the largest so far located.
In the 1970s, the first archaeological investigations revealed the Gallic origin of the Oppidum  and of the defensive works, it was long considered a Roman military fortification and was called "Caesar's camp". The inner defensive wall is over 500m long only 350m of the 10 meter high rampart survives,
 Along with traces of the Pincer gates. A secondary rampart in dry stone has also been recognized on the rest of the perimeter of the site at the top of the cliffs facing the Aaron and Mayenne Rivers. U

Map of Western Gaul

Artists impression of a Pincer gate

The surviving ramparts are 6-8m high and 350m of the walls are walkable, a remarkable piece of military engineering work.

The road cuts through the outer ramparts in two locations on the entrance to the village of Moulay 

From the top of lookout Rock on the junction and the ford of the Mayenne and L'Aaron rivers. 

Lookout Rock, on the junction of the Mayenne and the L'Aaron River

Looking back up from the river Mayenne to the Gallic city 

The archeology  corresponds to a Gallic domestic occupation from the 2nd  century BC until the 1st AD: pottery, grain millstones, wine amphorae imported from Italy, ornaments, and the practice of metallurgical activities: bronze mold and slag. 

In 2004, as part of the motorway bypass of the municipalities of Moulay and Mayenne, Inrap carried out an archaeological diagnosis over almost 9 kilometers.  The road project passes less than 300 meters east of the known Gallic fortification, following the rocky promontory.  Outside the enclosure, the diagnosis revealed numerous indications of the period of the final Tene (II  e  and I  st  century BC), a new rampart of about 1,200 meters long in 1000 meters upstream from the first.  It joins the Mayenne and Aron valleys in a straight line.  This new defensive line considerably changes the morphology of the site: the area defined by the two concentric enclosures then borders on 135 hectares. 

The inner fortification and the outer fortifications marked in red. 

Full expansion of the city, the gray section is the excavations by the archaeological team before the motorway construction. 

Territory of the Aulerci Diablintes 

It is the largest site known today on the Armorican Massif, the fortified agglomeration corresponds to the capital of the Gallic city of Diablintes. During the Roman period, the center of power moved a few kilometers from there to Jublains (Noviodunum), where the city remained until the early 5th century, before returning to Mayenne under the Carolingians, when the chateau was built. 

Aulerci Diablintes tribesmen V

Off the desk this week some of the first clothed Aulerci Diablintes, quite happy with my  plaid on these, two more units not far behind.