Caesar's De Bello Gallico provides a clear description of Alesia. It is on a "very high" hill, impregnable except by siege. The feet of the hill are washed by two rivers, and there is a plain in front extending for three Roman miles. These and other details convinced archaeologist Andre Berthier that Alesia could not be at Alise-Sainte-Reine. The portrait simply did not fit. The hill, he thought, was not sufficiently high to oblige Caesar to lay siege. The plain was too wide, and as for the two rivers - "flumina" in Latin - they were pathetic little streams. In 1962, after eliminating 200 alternative sites one by one, he came to a place called Chaux-des-Crotenay in the Jura, about 56km from Geneva. Read more
The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by an army of the Roman Republic commanded by Julius Caesar, aided by cavalry commanders Mark Antony, Titus Labienus and Gaius Trebonius, against a confederation of Gallic tribes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Averni. It was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans, marking the turning point of the Gallic Wars in favour of Rome. Read more