Saint-Denis-lès-Martel (, literally ''Saint-Denis

near NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a form ...

Martel Martel may refer to: People * Andre Martel (1946–2016), American politician and businessman * Anne-Marie Martel (1644–1673), founder of what is now the Congrégation des Sœurs de l’Enfant-Jésus. * James B. Aguayo-Martel, ophthalmologist ...

'';

Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian or Lengadocian (), is an Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and Southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Languedocien-Guyennai ...

: ''Sent Daunís de Martèl'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

department in south-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref>

Geography

The commune of Saint-Denis-lès-Martel is located in

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...

, in the ''Causse de Martel''. It is watered by two tributaries of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

, the Sourdoire which borders the communal territory to the southeast, and the Tourmente. Saint-Denis-près-Martel station has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Aurillac, Figeac and Rodez.

Neighbouring municipalities

Saint-Denis-lès-Martel is adjacent to five other communes. Map commune FR insee code 46265

Toponymy

The toponym Saint-Denis-lès-Martel, in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

''Sent Daunís'', is based on the Christian Hagiotoponyme, Denis de Paris (Dionysius): first Bishop of Paris. ''Lès ''comes from ''Lez'', a preposition from the late Latin ''latus'' meaning next to. Sent Daunís was called first Lenzac variant of Lanzac. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the commune, then simply named ''Saint-Denis'', bears the name of ''Seu-Denis''. The appendix lès-Martel was added to the name of the municipality in 1890. Its inhabitants are called the Saint-Dyonésiens.

History

It is in the present territory of Saint-Denis-lès-Martel, on the slopes of the Puy d'Issolud, formerly

Uxellodunum Uxellodunum is an Iron Age hill fort, or ''oppidum'', located above the river Dordogne near the modern-day French village of Vayrac in the Lot department. This stronghold lay within the lands of the Cadurci tribe. According to Aulus Hirtiu ...

, the last battle for the conquest of Gaul by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

occurred during the summer of 51 B.C. after the shocks of

Gergovia Gergovia was a Gaulish town in modern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the upper part of the basin of the Allier, near present-day Clermont-Ferrand. It was the capital of the Averni. The city of Gergovia had strong walls, and was located on a giant rais ...

and Alésia in 52 B.C.. This ultimate victory in the land of the ''Cadurques'', that marked the beginning of the Roman occupation of all Gaul, was acquired by a ruse of Caesar who besieged the Gauls of the Uxellodunum

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

with his legionaries and dug underground galleries that deprived the occupants of their main water supply (the current fountain of Loulié). On April 26, 2001, the work of the team of the archaeologist J.P. Girault was officially recognised by the Ministry of Culture in Toulouse, identifying ''Uxellodunum'' with the ''puy d'Issolud'' located in the Lot on the right bank of the

river in the commune of

Vayrac Vayrac (; oc, Vairac) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. The inhabitants of Vayrac are called the Vayracois. Geography Location Vayrac is located in the Haut Quercy, in the north of the Lot, in the Valley of the Dordog ...

and partly in that of Saint-Denis-lès-Martel, source of the Fountain of Loulié, place of the siege and the capture of the source by the Romans.

Local culture and heritage

Places and monuments

* Church. * Archaeological Site of the fountain of l'Oulié, registered on 29 November 2010 under the title of Historic Monument. * The railway station is called Saint-Denis-près-Martel. * The Eiffel bridge connecting Saint-Denis-près-Martel to Capdenac and Rodez by train.

References

Saintdenislesmartel Lot communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Lot-geo-stub