An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

late

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...

, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretching from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

in the west to the edge of the

Hungarian Plain The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain (however, the Great Hungarian Plain was not part ...

in the east. These settlements continued to be used until the Romans conquered Southern and Western Europe. Many subsequently became Roman-era towns and cities, whilst others were abandoned. In regions north of the rivers

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, such as most of

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

, where the populations remained independent from Rome, ''oppida'' continued to be used into the 1st century AD.

Definition

is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word meaning 'defended (fortified) administrative centre or town', originally used in reference to non-Roman towns as well as provincial towns under Roman control. The word is derived from the earlier Latin , 'enclosed space', possibly from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

, 'occupied space' or 'footprint'. In modern archaeological usage ''oppidum'' is a conventional term for large fortified settlements associated with the Celtic

. In his ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; ), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' (), is Julius Caesar's first-hand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine yea ...

'',

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

described the larger

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

settlements he encountered in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

during the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

in 58 to 52 BC as ''oppida''. Although he did not explicitly define what features qualified a settlement to be called an ''oppidum'', the main requirements emerge. They were important economic sites, places where goods were produced, stored and traded, and sometimes Roman merchants had settled and the

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

s could obtain supplies. They were also political centres, the seat of authorities who made decisions that affected large numbers of people, such as the appointment of

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; ; – 46 BC) was a Gauls, Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman Republic, Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. After surrendering to C ...

as head of the Gallic revolt in 52 BC. Manching model 1

Caesar named 28 ''oppida''. By 2011, only 21 of these had been positively identified by historians and archaeologists: either there was a traceable similarity between the Latin and the modern name of the locality (e.g. Civitas Aurelianorum-

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Alesia). Most of the places that Caesar called oppida were city-sized fortified settlements. However,

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, for example, was referred to as an ''oppidum'', but no fortifications dating to this period have yet been discovered there. Caesar also refers to 20 ''oppida'' of the

Bituriges The Gaulish name Bituriges, meaning 'kings of the world', can refer to: * Bituriges Cubi, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bourges * Bituriges Vivisci, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bordeaux {{Disambiguation ...

and 12 of the

Helvetii The Helvetii (, , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Ju ...

, twice the number of fortified settlements of these groups known today. That implies that Caesar likely counted some unfortified settlements as ''oppida''. A similar ambiguity is in evidence in writing by the Roman historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, who also used the word for both fortified and unfortified settlements. Manching model 2

In his work ''Geographia'',

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

listed the coordinates of many Celtic settlements. However, research has shown many of the localisations of Ptolemy to be erroneous, making the identification of any modern location with the names he listed highly uncertain and speculative. An exception to that is the ''oppidum'' of ''Brenodurum'' at

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, which was confirmed by an archaeological discovery. In archaeology and prehistory, the term ''oppida'' now refers to a category of settlement; it was first used in that sense by

Paul Reinecke Paul Heinrich Adalbert Reinecke (September 25, 1872 – May 12, 1958) was a German archaeologist and historian. Life and work Reinecke was born in Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both ...

Joseph Déchelette Joseph Déchelette (8 January 1862 – 3 October 1914) was a French archaeologist, prehistorian, and museum curator. He particularly distinguished himself as an early scholar of ancient ceramology. He is among the first to have made the conne ...

and in reference to

Bibracte Bibracte, a Gauls, Gallic ''oppidum'' (fortified settlement), was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was located near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The archaeological culture, material culture of the ...

Manching Manching () is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Paar, 7 km southeast of Ingolstadt. In the late Iron Age, there was a Celtic settlement, the Oppidum of Manching, on the locati ...

, and Závist. In particular, Dehn suggested defining an oppidum by four criteria: # Size: The settlement has to have a minimum size, defined by Dehn as . # Topography: Most ''oppida'' are situated on heights, but some are located on flat areas of land. # Fortification: The settlement is surrounded by a (ideally uninterrupted) wall, usually consisting of three elements: a facade of stone, a wooden construction and an earthen rampart at the back. Gates are usually pincer gates. # Chronology: The settlement dates from the late

: the last two centuries BC. Celtic Oppidum 1st century B

In current usage, most definitions of ''oppida'' emphasise the presence of fortifications, so they are different from undefended farms or settlements, and urban characteristics, marking them as separate from

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

s. They are often described as 'the first cities north of the Alps', though earlier examples of urbanism in temperate Europe are also known. The 2nd and 1st centuries BC places them in the period known as La Tène. A notional minimum size of has often been suggested, but that is flexible and fortified sites as small as have been described as ''oppida''. However, the term is not always rigorously used, and it has been used to refer to any hill fort or

circular rampart A circular rampart () is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The period during which ...

dating from the La Tène period. One of the effects of the inconsistency in definitions is that it is uncertain how many ''oppida'' were built. In European archaeology, the term ''oppida'' is also used more widely to characterize any fortified prehistoric settlement. For example, significantly older hill-top structures like the one at

Glauberg The Glauberg is a Celtic hillfort or oppidum in Hesse, Germany consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds, "a princely seat of the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods." Archaeological discoveries in the 1990s place t ...

(6th or 5th century BC) have been called ''oppida''. Such wider use of the term is, for example, common in the Iberian archaeology; in the descriptions of the

Castro culture Castro culture (, , , , meaning "culture of the hillforts") is the archaeological term for the material culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day northern and central Portugal together with the Spanish regions of ...

it is commonly used to refer to the settlements going back to the 9th century BC. The Spanish word , also used in English, means 'a walled settlement' or 'hill fort', and this word is often used interchangeably with ''oppidum'' by archaeologists.

Location and type

According to pre-historian John Collis, oppida extend as far east as the

Hungarian plain The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain (however, the Great Hungarian Plain was not part ...

where other settlement types take over. Around 200 ''oppida'' are known today. Central Spain has sites similar to oppida, but while they share features such as size and defensive ramparts the interior was arranged differently. ''Oppida'' feature a wide variety of internal structures, from continuous rows of dwellings (

) to more widely spaced individual estates (

). Some ''oppida'' had internal layouts resembling the ''

insulae The Latin word (; : ) was used in Roman cities to mean either a city block in a city plan (i.e. a building area surrounded by four streets) or later a type of apartment building that occupied such a city block specifically in Rome and nearby ...

'' of Roman cities (Variscourt). Little is known, however, about the purpose of any public buildings. The main features of the oppida are the walls and gates, the spacious layout, and usually a commanding view of the surrounding area. The major difference with earlier structures was their much larger size. Earlier hill forts were mostly just a few hectares in area, whilst ''oppida'' could encompass several dozen or even hundreds of hectares. They also played a role in displaying the power and wealth of the local inhabitants and as a line of demarcation between the town and the countryside. According to Jane McIntosh, the "impressive ramparts with elaborate gateways ... were probably as much for show and for controlling the movement of people and goods as for defense".McIntosh (2009), p. 156 Some of the ''oppida'' fortifications were built on an immense scale. Construction of the 7km-long ' at

required an estimated 6,900 m³ of stones for the façade alone, up to 7.5 tons of iron nails, 90,000 m³ of earth and stones for the fill between the posts and 100,000 m³ of earth for the ramp. In terms of labour, some 2,000 people would have been needed for 250 days. The 5.5km-long of

may have required 40 to 60

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s of mature oak woodland to be clear-felled for its construction. However, size and construction of ''oppida'' varied considerably. Typically ''oppida'' in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

were much larger than those found in the north and west of France. Typically ''oppida'' in Britain are small, but there is a group of large oppida in the south east; though oppida are uncommon in northern Britain, Stanwick stands out as an unusual example as it covers .

Dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

walls supported by a bank of earth, called

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Kelheim (district), district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). His ...

ramparts, were characteristic of oppida in central Europe. To the east, timbers were often used to support the earth and stone ramparts, called ''

Pfostenschlitzmauer A ''Pfostenschlitzmauer'' (German for "post-slot wall") is the name for defensive walls protecting Bronze Age and Iron Age hill forts and '' oppida'' in Central Europe, especially in Bavaria and the Czech Republic. They are characterized by ver ...

'' (post slot wall) or " Preist-type wall". In western Europe, especially Gaul, the '' murus gallicus'' (a timber frame nailed together, with a stone facade and earth/stone fill), was the dominant form of rampart construction. Dump ramparts, that is earth unsupported by timber, were common in Britain and were later adopted in France. They have been found in particular in the north-west and central regions of France and were combined with wide moats ("Type Fécamp"). Oppida can be divided into two broad groups, those around the Mediterranean coast and those further inland. The latter group were larger, more varied, and spaced further apart. In Britain the ''oppidum'' of ''

Camulodunon Camulodunum ( ; ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest recorded ...

'' (modern

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, built between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD), tribal capital of the

Trinovantes The Trinovantēs (Common Brittonic: *''Trinowantī'') or Trinobantes were one of the Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and included land ...

and at times the

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and thei ...

, made use of natural defences enhanced with earthworks to protect itself.Crummy, Philip (1997) City of Victory; the story of Colchester – Britain's first Roman town. Published by Colchester Archaeological Trust () The site was protected by two rivers on three of its sides, with the River Colne bounding the site to the north and east, and the Roman River forming the southern boundary; the extensive bank and ditch earthworks topped with palisades were constructed to close off the open western gap between these two river valleys.Denney, Patrick (2004) Colchester. Published by Tempus Publishing () These earthworks are considered the most extensive of their kind in Britain, and together with the two rivers enclosed the high status farmsteads, burial grounds, religious sites, industrial areas, river port and coin mint of the Trinovantes.

History

Prehistoric Europe saw a growing population. According to Jane McIntosh, in about 5,000 BC during the Neolithic between 2 million and 5 million people lived in Europe;McIntosh (2009), p. 349 in the late (pre-Roman) Iron Age (2nd and 1st centuries BC) it had an estimated population of around 15 to 30 million. Outside Greece and Italy, which were more densely populated, the vast majority of settlements in the Iron Age were small, with perhaps no more than 50 inhabitants. While hill forts could accommodate up to 1,000 people, ''oppida'' in the late Iron Age could reach as large as 10,000 inhabitants. Corent oppidum 1

''Oppida'' originated in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. Most were built on fresh sites, usually on an elevated position. Such a location would have allowed the settlement to dominate nearby trade routes and may also have been important as a symbol of control of the area. For instance at the ''oppidum'' of Ulaca in Spain the height of the ramparts is not uniform: those overlooking the valley are considerably higher than those facing towards the mountains in the area. The traditional explanation is that the smaller ramparts were unfinished because the region was invaded by the Romans; however, archaeologist John Collis dismisses this explanation because the inhabitants managed to build a second rampart extending the site by to cover an area of . Instead he believes the role of the ramparts as a status symbol may have been more important than their defensive qualities. While some ''oppida'' grew from hill forts, by no means all of them had significant defensive functions. The development of ''oppida'' was a milestone in the

urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...

of the continent as they were among the first large settlements north of the Alps that could genuinely be described as towns or cities (earlier sites include the 'Princely Seats' of the

Hallstatt period The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to ...

). Caesar pointed out that each tribe of Gaul would have several ''oppida'' but that they were not all of equal importance, implying a form of

settlement hierarchy A settlement hierarchy is a way of arranging settlements into a hierarchy based upon their size. The term is used by landscape historians and in the National Curriculum for England. The term is also used in the planning system for the UK and ...

, with some ''oppida'' serving as regional capitals. This is also reflected in the archaeological evidence. According to Fichtl (2018), in the first century BC Gaul was divided into around sixty (the term used by Caesar) or 'autonomous city-states', which were mostly organized around one or more ''oppida''. In some cases, "one of these can be regarded effectively as a capital." ''Oppida'' continued in use until the Romans began conquering Iron Age Europe. Even in the lands north of the

River Danube The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

that remained unconquered by the Romans, ''oppida'' were abandoned by the late 1st century AD. In conquered lands, the Romans used the infrastructure of the ''oppida'' to administer the empire, and many became full Roman towns. This often involved a change of location from the hilltop into the plain.

Examples

By modern country.

Belgium/Luxembourg/Netherlands

* Oppidum Aduaticorum/Atuatucorum, location undetermined, Belgium *Canteleux, Huissignies,

Chièvres Chièvres (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Chièvres had a total population of 6,899. The total area is 46.91 km2 which gives a population density of 150 inhabitan ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *Cheslé, Bérisménil, Samrée

La Roche-en-Ardenne La Roche-en-Ardenne (; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg and the arrondissement of Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium. Lying beside a ben ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *Chession,

Han-sur-Lesse Han-sur-Lesse (, ; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Rochefort, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Han-sur-Lesse was called Ham from 1139, Ham Han Sur Lesche, from 1266, Han Sur Lece from 1465 and Ham sur le ...

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *

Flobecq Flobecq (; ; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. It borders to the municipalities of Ellezelles (to the west) and Lessines (to the east) in the same province an ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *

Gilly Gilly is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Gilly is first mentioned in 1179 as ''de Iusliaco''. In 1278 it was mentioned as ''Gillie''. Geography Gilly has an area, , of . Of this area, or ...

-Ransart,

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *Gougnies,

Gerpinnes Gerpinnes (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 12,660 inhabitants. The total area is 47.10 km2, giving a population density Population density (in agricu ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *Orchimont,

Vresse-sur-Semois Vresse-sur-Semois (, literally ''Vresse on Semois''; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Alle, Bagimont, Bohan, Chairière, Laforêt, Membre, Mo ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *Sinsin,

Somme-Leuze Somme-Leuze (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 4,656 inhabitants. The total area is 95.09 km2, giving a population density Population density (in agricultur ...

, Wallonia, Belgium *

Titelberg Titelberg () is the site of a large Celts, Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme south west of Luxembourg. In the 1st century BCE, this thriving community was probably the capital of the Treveri people. The site thus provides telling evide ...

, Luxembourg * Caestert, possibly

Atuatuca Atuatuca (or Aduatuca) is the name of two ancient fortified settlements located in the eastern part of modern Belgium, between the Scheldt and Rhine rivers. The oldest one, ''Atuatuca Eboronum'', attested during the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), was th ...

Tungrorum, on the Walloon/Flemish/Dutch border, Belgium/Netherlands

Czech Republic

* *

Hostýn Hostýn (or Svatý Hostýn, i.e. Saint Hostýn) is a hill in Chvalčov in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains and has an elevation of . It is an important Marian place of pilgrimage. The pilgr ...

*, Radíč * České Lhotice * Staré Hradisko Population estimate 5,000. * Stradonice * Třísov * Nevězice *, 170 ha. Population estimate 3,400. See reconstructed model of the acropolis in 450 BC.

France

* Alesia * Ambrussum * Oppidum d’Altimurium near Murviel-lès-Montpellier *

(Mont Beuvray), 135 ha * Bracquemont, Haute-Normandie *

Cenabum ''Cenabum'', Gaul (sometimes written ''Cenabaum'' or ''Genabum'') was the name of the capital city of the Carnutes, located near the present French city of Orléans. Cenabum was an ''oppidum'' and a thriving commercial town on the Loire river. In ...

, Orléans *

La Chaussée-Tirancourt La Chaussée-Tirancourt (; Picard: ''L’Cœuchie-Tinincourt'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the N235 road, on the banks of the river Somme some northwest of A ...

, Picardie * La Cheppe, Champagne-Ardenne *

Corent Corent () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. It sits approximately 2 miles north of Les Martres-de-Veyre on the side of the old volcanic Puy de Corent. In 2001 excavation began on a Gallic ...

* Divodurum, ancestor of present-day

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, oppidum of the

Mediomatrici The Mediomatrici (Gaulish: ''*Medio-māteres'') were according to Caesar a Gaulish tribe at the frontier to the Belgicae dwelling in the present-day regions Lorraine, Upper Moselle during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are ...

* *

Oppidum d'Ensérune The Oppidum d'Ensérune is an ancient hill-town (or ''oppidum'') near the village of Nissan-lez-Ensérune, France, located between Béziers and Narbonne close to the D609 (formerly RN9) and Canal du Midi. It has been listed since 1935 as a ''mon ...

* Oppidum d'Entremont * Oppidum of Moulay * Oppidum de Nages * Oppidum de Marduel *

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 raise ...

, 75 ha * Oppidum de Gondole *Jœuvres, Saint-Jean-Saint-Maurice-sur-Loire *

Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital ...

, Champagne-Ardenne * Montlaurès * * Pech Maho *

Salon-de-Provence Salon-de-Provence (, ; or , ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department (Metropolis of Aix-Marseille Provence), region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

* Uxellodunum * Vesontio, Besançon

Germany

Alcimoennis Alcimoennis or ''Alkimoennis'' is the name widely attached to a Celtic ''Oppidum'', or hill fort above the modern town of Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany. The name comes from Ptolemy, who in his ''Geography (Ptolemy), Geography'', only mentioned th ...

, 600 ha * *

Donnersberg The Donnersberg (; literally: "thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate () region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after th ...

, 240 ha * Dünsberg *, Creglingen * Heidengraben, 1,700 ha *

Hohenasperg Hohenasperg, located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart, Germany, of which it is administratively part, is an ancient fortress and prison overlooking the town of Asperg. It was an important Celtic oppidum, and a number of ...

(controversial, not dating to the 1st/2nd century BC) *

, 380 ha * Martberg *

Milseburg The Milseburg is an extinct volcano and at above sea level the second highest elevation in the Hessian part of the Rhön Mountains, Germany. The hill is located east of Fulda, near the villages of Kleinsassen and Danzwiesen. It is a popular des ...

Staffelberg The Staffelberg is a hill in Bavaria, Germany. It is part of the Franconian Switzerland and one of the most important landmarks in Franconia. First settlements date from the Neolithic. Ancient Rome, Romans, Celts and Franconians followed. Duri ...

, known as

Menosgada Menosgada ("town above the Main valley")Motschmann 2006, p. 10 was a Celts, Celtic metropolis on the Upper Main (river) that was mentioned by the Greek geographer, Ptolemy. It was probably located on the hill known today as the Staffelberg. In t ...

* Oppidum Steinsburg

Great Britain

Calleva Atrebatum Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain. The modern vi ...

(

Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...

), England *

Camulodunum Camulodunum ( ; ), the Roman Empire, Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important Castra, castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "wikt:strapline, strapline" in the 1960s ...

, (

) England * Oram's Arbour (

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

), England *

Ratae Corieltauvorum Ratae Corieltauvorum or simply Ratae was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Leicester, located in the English county of Leicestershire. Name ''Ratae'' is a latinate form of the Brittonic word for "ramparts" (cf ...

(

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

), England *

Traprain Law Traprain Law is a hill east of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland. It is the site of a hill fort or possibly ''oppidum'', which covered at its maximum extent about . It is the site of the Traprain Law Treasure, the largest Roman silver hoard ...

, Scotland *

Verlamion Verlamion, or Verlamio, was a settlement in Iron Age Britain. It was a major centre of the Catuvellauni tribe from about 20 BC until shortly after the Roman Empire, Roman invasion of AD 43. It is associated with a particular king, Tasciovanus. ...

, England *

Noviomagus Reginorum Noviomagus Reginorum was Chichester's Roman heart, very little of which survives above ground. It lay in the land of the Atrebates and is in the early medieval-founded English county of West Sussex. On the English Channel, Chichester Harbour ...

, (

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

), England

Hungary

*Budapest-

Gellért Hill Gellért Hill (; ; ) is a high hill overlooking the Danube in Budapest, Hungary. It is located in the 1st and the 11th districts. The hill was named after Saint Gerard who was thrown to death from the hill. The famous Hotel Gellért and th ...

*Velem-Szentvid,

Velem Velem is a village in Vas county, Hungary. The village is situated on the slopes of Kőszeg Mountains, at the westernmost tip of the county and the region known as Alpokalja (Lower Alps). Velem is notable for its picturesque environment and he ...

Portugal

Citânia de Briteiros The Citânia de Briteiros is an archaeological site of the Castro culture located in the Portuguese civil parish of Briteiros São Salvador e Briteiros Santa Leocádia in the municipality of Guimarães; important for its size, "urban" form and ...

* Óbidos * Castro Culture of Portugal

Serbia

*Čarnok, near Vrbas *

Židovar Židovar is an archeological site and settlement near Vršac, Serbia. This site is famous by the treasure that was found here. History The earliest archeological findings date from the early Bronze Age and are followed by Middle Bronze Age relic ...

Slovakia

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Devín Devín (, , ) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural character and today, it is on ...

Spain

* List of castros in Asturias * List of castros in the Basque Country * List of castros in Cantabria * List of castros in Castile and León *

List of castros in Galicia This is a list of Castro culture, castros in Galicia (Spain), ordered by provinces. Province of A Coruña Province of Lugo Province of Ourense Province of Pontevedra See also * List of castros in Asturias * List of castros i ...

Switzerland

Basel-Münsterhügel Basel-Münsterhügel is the site of an Iron Age ( late La Tène) fort or ''oppidum'', known as Basel oppidum, constructed by the Gaulish Rauraci after the battle of Bibracte in 58 BC. It the site of Basel Minster, in the Swiss city of Basel ...

*Bern (Brenodurum) * Mont Vully,

Bas-Vully Bas-Vully () is a former municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. On 1 January 2016 the former municipalities of Bas-Vully and Haut-Vully merged to form Mont-Vully. History Bas-Vully is first mentioned in ...

Zürich-Lindenhof Lindenhof is the present name of the large fortified settlement, or oppidum, likely founded by the Helvetii on the Lindenhof hill on the western shore of the Limmat in Zurich, Switzerland. Geography The Lindenhof is a moraine hill that since th ...

References

Notes Bibliography * Collis, John (2000), "'Celtic' Oppida", in Hansen, Mogens Herman, ''A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures'', Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, pp. 229–240, * Collis, John (2010)
"Why do we still dig Iron Age ramparts?"
(PDF), ''Collection Bibracte'' 19: 27–36, * Jones, Stephen (2001) ''Deconstructing the Celts: a skeptic's guide to the archaeology of the Auvergne''. British Archaeological Reports. Oxford: Archaeopress. *McIntosh, Jane (2009) ''Handbook of Life in Prehistoric Europe'' (paperback ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. * Woolf, Greg (July 1993)
"Rethinking the Oppida"
''Oxford Journal of Archaeology'' 12: 223–234

External links

Multi-lingual site on European oppida
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Europe Celtic archaeological sites Former populated places Iron Age Europe La Tène culture

Definition

Location and type

History

Examples

Belgium/Luxembourg/Netherlands

Czech Republic

France

Germany

Great Britain

Hungary

Portugal

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

See also

References

Further reading

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