The Ausuciates (

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

: *''Ausuciatis'') were a small Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day

Ossuccio Ossuccio () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy. It is located on the western shore of Lake Como some northeast of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 975 and an area of .All d ...

, on the western shore of

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

, during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Ausuciatium'' on an inscription dated to the early 1st millennium AD and found in

(''Ausucum''). CIL 5:5227., s.v. ''Ausuciates''. The

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

''Ausuciates'' may be derived from the Gaulish root ''aus(i)-'' ('ear'), and possibly translated as 'those having big ears'. It could be compared with the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''óach'' ('with big ears'), from an earlier *''ausākos''. Alternatively, it may be derived from a hypothetical deity named *''Ausucos'' ('The Golden One'), from the root *''aus''- ('gold'). The place-name ''Ausucum'' has been translated as the 'domain of *Ausucos'.

Geography

The Ausuciates dwelled on the western shore of

, around the settlement of ''Ausucum'' (modern

). Their territory was located north of the Gallianates and

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman conquest, they were the re ...

, northeast of the Subinates, east of the

Orobii The Orobii (also Orobi, Oromobi or Orumbovii) were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling around present-day Como and Bergamo during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Orobii'' by Cato the Elder (early 2nd century BC). The ethnic name ''Orob ...

, and south the Aneuniates., Map 19: Raetia, Map 39: Mediolanum.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul Ancient peoples of Italy {{society-stub