Graioceli


The Graioceli were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of Maurienne, in the modern region of Savoie, during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Graioceli by Caesar.
The etymology of the ethnonym Graioceli remains unclear. It possibly contains a divine name *Graios attached to the Gaulish root ocel-, meaning 'peak, summit, promontory'. The same stem is also present in the name of the Alpes Graiae.

Geography

The Graioceli dwelled in the Maurienne Valley, around the modern towns of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Saint-Jean-d'Arves. Their territory was located the southeast of the Allobroges, south of the Ceutrones, north of the Ucennii, and west of the Medulli.

History

In the mid-first century BC, the Graioceli are mentioned by Julius Caesar as a tribe hostile to Rome. In what appears to be a concerted attack, they attempted to prevent his passage through the upper Durance alongside the Ceutrones and Caturiges in 58 BC.

Primary sources