OCR Text |
Show French Archeologists at Work Upon Alesia Battlefield Find Roman Coins Thirty-seven Roman coins, also 179 diverse objects which might have belonged to Julius Caesar, all of them dating back to the Roman occupation of GauL have been dug up by a group of French archeologists archeolo-gists at work upon the historic battlefield bat-tlefield of Alesia, 40 miles from Dijon. For three decades excavations at Alesia have been carried on, but during the past few months the "harvest" was so abundant that it has inspired the archeologists, working under the direction of M. E Esperandieu, to continue their digging with increased vigor. Among the 179 Roman objects found were locks, keys, cramp irons, needles nee-dles and fragments of pottery; also an elaborately decorated table in the form of an altar and a striking lion in bronze (almost intact). A "hypocaust," an underground furnace fur-nace for heating baths, was also dug UPEvery American school boy who has plodded through Caesar's "Commentaries" "Com-mentaries" is acquainted with Alesia- it is the place where Vercinge-torix Vercinge-torix intrepid chieftain of the Gauls, met his fate and was compelled com-pelled to surrender to Caesar. Alesia Ale-sia today bears the name of Alise-Sainte-Reine and, since the Middle ages, has become a religious shrine much frequented by Burgundians. Saint Reine was one of the early Christian martyrs in Gaul and every September her fidelity to her faith is evoked in a picturesque procession. proces-sion. Each year an average of 10,000 visitors comes to Aiesla, some as religious pilgrims, others as tourists. tour-ists. All of them walk about the battlefield where th Independence of Gaul was lost some 2,000 years ago; they stand In awe before the heroic statue of Vercingetorix, erected on the summit of Mont Auxois. |