Lutetia: Encyclopedia II - Lutetia - Celtic origins

Lutetia - Celtic origins

Somewhere in the immediate area was the chief settlement or oppidum of the Parisii, a Celtic people who settled in the area during the 3rd century BC. However, dendrochronological study of wooden pilings beneath the lowest stratum of the Roman north-south axis date the road's construction after 4 CE, more than fifty years after the Roman pacification of the region.

Roman Lutetia was founded above the flood-prone point where the Bièvre stream reaches the river Seine, centered on the slopes of the hill later dedicated to Saint Genevieve, on the left bank of the Seine (modern-day Quartier Latin). There were outlying suburbs on an island across from the confluence, the Île de la Cité, which was the Merovingian and modern centre of Paris.

The name of Lutetia was first recorded by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars (notably in book 7, chapters 57-58). The name seems to be related to an Indo-European root meaning "mud", reflecting the marshy surroundings, which the Romans avoided.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Celtic origins", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki