Vertillum is a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

site in the modern commune of

Vertault Vertault () is a Communes of France, commune in the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in eastern France. The ancient Gallo-Roman settlement of Vertillum lies just west of the village. Of particular note is its Vertault relief. Populati ...

in the Côte-d'Or department of eastern France. It has been extensively (and often destructively) excavated over the past century. Many of the objects found at the site are held in the nearby

Musée du Pays Châtillonnais The Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, or Trésor de Vix, formerly called the musée archéologique de Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d'Or), was created in the late nineteenth century and is managed by the community of communes of the Pays Châtillonnais ...

. Vertillum was classified as a Historical Monument in 1875. It includes many buried structures, remains of ramparts, thermal baths and a temple. 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 ...

covering about originally occupied the site, surrounded by a stone wall and ditch. Later it evolved into a Gallo-Roman settlement with the typical features of such cities: residential areas, a forum, baths, temple and administrative center. The Roman town would have had between 3,000 and 5,000 inhabitants. Excavations in the 19th and early 20th centuries were extremely destructive. Formerly well-preserved buildings, particularly the baths, were destroyed. Vertillum was a center for working copper-based alloys. Unfinished objects and waste material show that the smiths used foundry techniques to work sheet iron and to bronze the iron objects. These include handles, dishes and keys, some ornate and some simple. The archaeological setting of the older discoveries was not recorded, so it is not possible to define a chronology of metal working at the site. File:Vertillum05.JPG, Remains of the ''

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

'', 2015. File:Vertillum03.JPG, Vertillum during the 19th century. File:Dijon - Musée archéologique - dédicace.jpg, Roman inscription of the thermal baths, kept in

musée archéologique de Dijon The Musée Archéologique de Dijon is an archaeology museum focusing on the archaeology of Burgundy that was founded in 1832 in Côte-d'Or within Dijon, France. It contains collections regarding "the men of Burgandy" that covers the periods of p ...

. File:Deesses de Vertault (musée de Bibracte).jpg,

Vertault relief The Vertault relief is a Roman relief from Vertault, the ancient Vertillum, in the Departments of France, Department of Côte-d'Or. Today it is located at the Museum of Châtillon-sur-Seine. Description The 39 cm high limestone relief show ...

. File:Vertillum02.JPG, Reconstruction of a ''

murus gallicus ''Murus gallicus'' or Gallic wall is a method of construction of defensive walls used to protect Iron Age hillforts and ''oppida'' of the La Tene period in Western Europe. Basic features The distinctive features are: * earth or rubble f ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Oppida Historic and archaeological sites in Burgundy Archaeological sites in France Lingones Gallo-Roman culture