Photo : Jochen Jahnke sur Wikipédia allemand / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Bibracte
Bibracte is a Celtic oppidum perched on Mont Beuvray, in the Morvan, at 821 metres' altitude. It extends over about 135 hectares, straddling Saône-et-Loire and the Nièvre. Founded at the end of the second century BC, the town was the capital of the Aedui, whom Caesar describes as their largest and richest city. It may have housed between 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, before being abandoned after the founding of Augustodunum (Autun) around 15 BC.
Excavations began in 1865 with Jacques-Gabriel Bulliot, then his nephew Joseph Déchelette, and resumed from 1984. Only about 12 hectares have been explored. You can see remains of ramparts, a large granite basin, a Roman-style basilica, craftsmen's quarters and stone houses heated by hypocaust. The Museum of Celtic Civilisation, opened in 1996, presents the objects discovered. The site has carried the Grand Site de France label since 2007.
