Veliocasses
The Veliocasses or Velocasses were a Belgic or Gallic tribe of the La Tène and Roman periods, dwelling in the south of modern Seine-Maritime and in the north of Eure.
Name
They are mentioned as Veliocasses by Caesar and Pliny, as Ou̓éliokásioi by Ptolemy, and as Velocasses by Orosius.The meaning of the Gaulish ethnonym is uncertain. The first part is certainly the Gaulish stem uelio-, which could either derive from Proto-Celtic *wēliyā-, or else from Proto-Celtic *wēlyo-. The second etymology is semantically more probable for a tribal name, but the unknown length of the vowel e in uelio- makes it difficult to conclude with certainty.
The meaning of the second element -casses, attested in other Gaulish ethnonyms such as Bodiocasses, Durocasses, Sucasses, Tricasses, or Viducasses, has been debated, but it probably signifies ' hair, hairstyle', perhaps referring to a particular warrior coiffure. Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel has proposed to interpret the name as 'those with better helmets', and Venceslas Kruta as 'those with very curly hair'.
The county of Vexin, attested in 617 as pagus Veliocassinus, is named after the ancient tribe.
Geography
The territory of the Veliocasses lay between the Parisii, the Caletes, and the Bellovaci, primarily north of the lower course of the Sequana, and to a limited extent also south of the river. Wooded highlands formed a natural boundary with the Bellovaci, who held sway in that region. The Sequana also separated them from the Lexovii and the Aulerci Eburovices.During the pre-Roman period, their capital was probably the oppidum of Camp de Calidou, then Rotomagus after the reign of Augustus . In the 2nd century AD, the settlement served as a significant harbor for exports bound for Britain.