Vellaunodunum was a Gallic

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 ...

of the

Senones The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where they ...

tribe two days' march from

Agedincum Sens () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a sub-prefecture and the second city of the department, the sixth in the region. It is crossed by the Yonne and t ...

. On the outbreak of

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...

's revolt in 52 BC,

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, and ...

marched to this oppidum to besiege it, "in order that he might not leave an enemy in his rear, and might the more easily procure supplies of provisions". In his own words, he : Caesar then marched on to besiege Genabum and

Noviodunum Biturigum Neung-sur-Beuvron (, literally ''Neung on Beuvron'') is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department, in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography Neung's historic location is situated between two rivers, the Beuvron and ...

. These three sieges brought Vercingetorix to open battle at Noviodunum, where Caesar won, though this was soon followed by the Roman defeat at

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 ...

. The exact location of Vellaunodunum has never been fixed; suggested sites including

Montargis Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...

and

Château-Landon Château-Landon () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. The commune contains within it the Souppes-sur-Loing quarry, where the bright white travertine stones for construction of the ...

Notes

{{reflist 52 BC Populated places in pre-Roman Gaul Archaeological sites in France Former populated places in France