Key actors — tap for context
Ambiorix
Chief of the Gallic tribe of the Eburones, who rebelled against Rome in the 1st century BC; in Belgium he remains a national hero to this day.
Why here: It is precisely his legendary seat and battlefield that archaeologists are searching for near Tongeren.
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Julius Caesar
Roman general and statesman who conquered Gaul between 58–50 BC and described it in his Commentaries on the Gallic War.
Why here: Ambiorix's ambush was one of his heaviest defeats — he later took brutal revenge on the Eburones.
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Eburones
A Gallic tribe that lived in northern Gaul between the Meuse and Rhine rivers.
Why here: Their gold coins put archaeologists on the trail of Ambiorix's power center.
More info →Aduatuca
The legendary fortress of the Eburones; according to Caesar, the place where an entire Roman garrison fell.
Why here: It is exactly this that the research near Tongeren is meant to reveal.
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Tongeren
The oldest city in Belgium, known in Roman times as Atuatuca Tungrorum.
Why here: In its vicinity, in the village of Berg, the excavation is taking place.
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Vercingetorix
Chief of the Gauls, whom Caesar defeated in a decisive battle in 52 BC.
Why here: Mentioned as a parallel — a famous Gaul whom Rome ultimately defeated.
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Alesia
A Gallic fortress in present-day France, near which Caesar definitively defeated Vercingetorix in 52 BC.
Why here: The minister compared the potential of the find near Tongeren to it.
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Ben Weyts
Flemish minister for the N-VA party, responsible for cultural heritage.
Why here: He opened the excavation and compared its potential to famous Alesia.
More info →Berg
A village near Tongeren with the Trappersberg hill.
Why here: It is here that archaeologists are digging the first trial trenches.
Trappersberg
An elevation in the village of Berg below the church hill Kerkheuvel.
Why here: Here the team is digging three trial trenches, searching for a ditch and rampart of the former fortification.
Marleen Martens
Archaeologist leading the research at the site near Tongeren.
Why here: She announced that in the first trench something appeared that could be a defensive ditch.
The Flemish Heritage Agency has been searching for Ambiorix's seat for five years now. The trail led it to the Trappersberg hill in the village of Berg, where gold coins of the Eburones tribe were found, along with unstruck blanks — a hint of a mint and a power center. In the first of the trial trenches, according to archaeologist Marleen Martens, something appeared that could be a defensive ditch. They want to search for the battlefield about three kilometers further away. De Morgen ↗
Z výskumu: stopy Eburonov a rímsky Tongeren
Keltské mince kmeňa Eburonov a zvyšky rímskeho mesta, ktoré vyrástlo na mieste Aduatuky.
Ambiorix at the time lured the Roman garrison out of its camp and destroyed nearly one and a half legions — one of Caesar's worst defeats in the Gallic Wars. The Romans took revenge by nearly annihilating the tribe, but Ambiorix escaped and remains a national hero in Belgium to this day. Minister Ben Weyts compared the find to France's Alesia, where Caesar defeated Vercingetorix, and believes it could be a tourist draw. VRT NWS ↗
