Nemeturii

The Nemeturii (Gaulish *Nemeturioi, 'the inhabitants of nemetons') or Nemeturi were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Alpes Maritimae during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Nemeturicae by Columella (1st c. AD),^[1] and as Nemoturica and Nematuri (var. nemet-) by Pliny (1st c. AD).^[2][3]

The ethnic name Nemeturii is a latinized form of Gaulish *Nemeturioi. It derives from the stem nemeto-, meaning 'sacred place, sanctuary',^[3] and can be translated as 'the inhabitants of sacred places'.^[4]

Geography

The Nemeturii dwelled in the upper Verdon or Var valley.^[5] Their territory was located east of the Eguiturii, west of the Ecdinii, north of the Vergunni and Nerusii, and south of the Savincates and Caturiges.^[6]

History

They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.^[7]

References

1. Columella. De Re Rustica, 12:22.
2. Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:137, 12:24:1.
3. Falileyev 2010, s.v. Nemeturii.
4. de Bernardo Stempel 2006, p. 46.
5. Barruol 1969, p. 382.
6. Talbert 2000, Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum, Map 17: Lugdunum.
7. Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.

Primary sources

• Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674993648.

Bibliography

• Barruol, Guy (1969). Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. E. de Boccard. OCLC 3279201.
• de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (2006). "From Ligury to Spain: Unaccented *yo > (y)e in Narbonensic votives ('gaulish' DEKANTEM), Hispanic coins ('iberian' -(sk)en) and some theonyms". Palaeohispanica. 6: 45–58. ISSN 1578-5386.
• Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
• Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.