Avatici
The Avatici were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the Étang de Berre, to the west of Massilia (modern Marseille), during the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as Au̓atilō͂n (Αὐατιλῶν; var. Αὐατικῶν) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD),[1] and an oppidum Maritima Avaticorum is documented by Pliny (1st c. AD) and Pomponius Mela (mid-1st c. AD).[2][3]
Geography
The Avatici dwelled near the Étang de Berre, southwest of the Salyes, and possibly northwest of the Tricores.[4] Their territory stretched from the eastern part of the mouth of the Rhône river to the west of Massilia.[5][6]
Their chief town was known as Colonia Maritima Avaticorum, in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. Preceded by a pre-Roman oppidum, Maritima was possibly founded under Caesar or Augustus. The location of the settlement remains uncertain, but it was presumably on the coast of the Étang de Berre or the nearby Étang de Lavalduc, probably near Martigues.[7][6]
See also
References
- ^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:10:5.
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:34; Pomponius Mela. De situ orbis, 2:78.
- ^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Avatici.
- ^ Talbert 2000, Map 15: Arelate-Massalia.
- ^ Lejeune 1988, p. 83.
- ^ a b Chausserie-Laprée 2005, p. 7.
- ^ Lafond 2006.
Bibliography
- Chausserie-Laprée, Jean (2005). Martigues, terre gauloise : entre Celtique et Méditerranée. Errance. ISBN 2-87772-292-9.
- Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
- Lafond, Yves (2006). "Maritima". Brill’s New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e723960.
- Lejeune, Michel (1988). "Compléments gallo-grecs". Études celtiques. 25 (1): 79–106. doi:10.3406/ecelt.1988.1872.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.
