ALISE ST RENNE (Alesia)		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History & Occupation:

Alesia had long been a Gaulish oppidum of the Mandubian tribe before its moment of glory. There can hardly be a Roman fan or even an Asterix reader who doesn't know the name of Alesia. After Caesar's Gallic wars ended and things settled down, the Gaulish tribes rose in revolt against their new Roman masters and in an incredible gesture of solidarity the tribes met and voted one leader. Vercingetorix led the revolt against Rome that ended with him and his army encamped on the summit of Alesia. Caesar's army built a wall and camps around the plateau in the traditional way but, upon hearing that Vercingetorix's relief army was on the way, they built another series of fortifications around the first facing outwards. Many many miles of fortification were created in just a few days and in one of the most celebrated battles in history the hopelessly outnumbered Romans crushed the army of the rebel and dragged him off in chains to Rome. Despite the importance of the site, it seems to have drifted on afterwards. The Romans didn't level the oppidum as was often the case in such a vicious rebellion, neither did they turn the site into a thorough Roman cultural metropolis and settle veterans, which was another way of dealing with revolt. The site went on to become a Roman town, but only at a small level. As such it remains unburdened by later construction.

Remains and Visit:

Much of the site has been excavated and is open to visitors. Perhaps the most famous image of Alesia is the huge statue of Vercingetorix (actually Napoleon III made to look like the Gaulish hero), but unfortunately I seem to have lost my photograph of this. Indeed, it has been so long since I was there that I cannot for the life of me remember what the remains in these photographs actually are. Moreover, in the many intervening years a lot has apparently been done at Alesia including reconstructions of Caesar's defences.

Images:

Overview	Buildings	Detail	Detail