Lemovices


The Lemovices were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Limousin region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Name

They are mentioned as Lemovices by Caesar and Pliny, Lemoouíkes by Strabo, and as Limouikoí by Ptolemy.
The Gaulish ethnonym *Lemouīcēs means 'those who vanquish by the elm', probably in reference to the wood from which were made their spears or bows. It derives from the stem lēmo- attached to the suffix -uices. The Proto-Celtic stem *lēmo- or *limo- ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élem or *h₁leym-.
The city of Limoges, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Lemovicum, and the Limousin region, attested in the 6th c. AD as Lemovicinum, are named after the Gallic tribe.

History

They established themselves in Limousin and Poitou between 700 and 400 BC.
In 52 BC, some 10,000 Lemovician combatants fought against Julius Caesar at the Battle of Alesia as allies to the Arverni under Vercingetorix. Their chief, Sedullos, was killed during the battle.

Geography

Settlements

Their pre-Roman chief town was Durotincum, probably corresponding to the oppidum of Villejoubert. After their incorporation into the Roman province of Aquitania, Augustoritum was the capital of the civitas Lemovicum. In the 1st c. AD, it was administered by the vergobretus, and later by a duumviri.
Briva Curretia, Blatomago and Carovicus are known vici of the Lemovician territory.
Other locations associated with them were Acitodunum, Argentate, Cassinomagus, Roncomagus, Excingidiacum et Uxellum. One of their main sanctuaries was recently found in Tintignac including several unique objects in the world such as "carnyx".

Economy

Their territory was a region rich in gold, tin and iron.
Archaeologists during the latter part of the 19th century found gold mines in the Lemovician settlement in Limousin, particularly in the south-western region of the Massif Central in west-central France. This discovery allowed the identification of techniques and the chronology of the mining activity because the Lemovices did not mention their mining heritage and their gold.