Alesia Museum Park – The Last Gallic Battle

Every summer, a festival is held in the village of Alise-Sainte-Reine in the Burgundy region in honor of the bold leader Vercingetorix, the head of the Gallic tribe, who surrendered to Julius Caesar in 52 BC, after a five-day siege.

Not far away, at the Alesia MuseoParc, the circular archaeological center that opened a few years ago, actors stage battles between Roman legionaries and Gallic warriors, at the presumed site where researchers believe the last decisive battle, known as the Battle of Alesia, took place. A battle that brought an end to the Gallic Revolt, after which the Gauls were enslaved, and their leader was taken prisoner and displayed in Julius Caesar's triumphal procession upon his return to Rome, before being executed.

How do you preserve the memory of defeat?

But the French do not perceive the defeat of the Gauls in a negative light. First, it was the Romans who brought about the construction of aqueducts and the paving of roads and bridges, giving the region 300 years of peace. Second, the Gallic defeat was noble, and finally, how can we forget that the first Frenchman to speak of liberty (one of the three principles of the revolution) was the proud Vercingetorix.

Despite his surrender, Verkingtorix was thus perceived as a national hero in France, and the expression “our Gaulish ancestors” is a familiar one on the lips of every French schoolchild. This is evidenced by the famous Parisian restaurant bearing the same name – Nos Ancetres les Gaulois, the well-known Gaulois cigarettes, and of course millions of comic book readers around the world, who are familiar with the lovable Gaulish cartoon characters Asterix and Obelix.

But things weren't always this way, and for nearly 2,000 years, the Gauls and their leader have all but faded from the collective memory of our people. FranceIt was none other than Emperor Napoleon III who ordered in the 60s to find the presumed site where the Battle of Alesia took place. And following a series of archaeological excavations, the remains of a thriving Gallo-Roman city, fortifications and a wealth of weapons were uncovered.

Napoleon, who was not satisfied with this, summoned Aime Millet to sculpt Vercingetorix on a romantic bronze statue, which rises to a height of 6.6 meters, and has stood on a granite rock since 1865. It was not for nothing that Napoleon placed his huge, mustachioed statue of Vercingetorix, and took care to breathe life into the mythical Gallic leader. In fact, the emperor, who suffered from delegitimization and feared the rising power of Prussia, saw Vercingetorix as a unifying role model, who would serve as an inspiration for the spirit of national resistance of the people of France. And as evidence, the inscription engraved on the base of the statue:

"La Gaule unie, formant une seule nation, animee d'un meme esprit, peut defier l'univers"

Which loosely translates to: “A united Gaul, one nation, inflamed by the same spirit, will be able to challenge the universe.”

This was not surprising, for beneath the Gallic mane of hair and curling moustache, the Gallic hero bore suspiciously the features of a young, mustachioed Napoleon III. In any case, the inscription on the statue failed to predict what was to come, and in 3, Napoleon III died in exile in Britain. Napoleon, perhaps believing the propaganda he had spread about the “invincible united Gauls,” allowed Bismarck to drag him into a war with Prussia in which France suffered a humiliating defeat.

What is there to see in Alesia Museum-Park?

And back to the present, “Alessia Museum-Park” is actually a fun, informative center for the whole family, featuring interactive displays, audio guides, and a full-size reconstruction of the double fortification system and siege weapons, alongside the remains of the Gallo-Roman city of Alessia, which flourished until 400 AD.

Although some of the explanations are in French, the Gallic attack techniques, Julius Caesar's ingenious strategy, and the battle reenactment are conveyed and animated in an informative and light-hearted way. The circular archaeological center and museum were designed by the French-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, who, among other things, created the Acropolis Museum in Athens in 2009.

To illustrate the story of the siege, Haifa Tashomi covered the building with a wooden roof, which would blend naturally with the Roman wooden fortifications. Tashomi covered the roof of the building with trees, grass and low bushes, which slightly blurred the appearance of the building, to those watching from the top of the hill. (The position of the historians of the Gauls).

The enormous expenditure on the “Alessia Museum-Park”, which reached 75 million euros, and the meticulous planning that lasted for about a decade, did not prevent the sharp debate that took place behind the scenes. A dispute that has been going on for many years, on the issue of whether the last battle for Gaul actually took place at the current location of Alessia.

There is no doubt that the many weapons discovered at Alesia, and even the remains of the Roman fortifications and camp, indicate that the site was a thriving city with a theater, forum, and orderly streets. However, according to the findings of the French archaeologist André Berthier, who researched the writings of Julius Caesar, the battle in question actually took place southeast of Alesia, at Chaux-des-Crotenay in the foothills of the Jura Mountains.

Here I will point out that there are not many voices in favor of Bertrand, and their arguments run into a wall in the form of national motives and economic interests. And if you want to hear the opinion of the residents of Alice Saint Rennes, for them there is no shadow of a doubt, and Rekingtoriks is entirely theirs.

To visit the museum's website click here.