The hill of Fourvière (district of Lyon made up on a rock hill within the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone has been inhabited for 12000 BC. The excavations of these thirty last years proved a strong Celtic presence before even the coming of the Romans. Indeed on the tops of Fourvière have discovered many sites of feasts and big sizes framed by ditches length of several hundred meters and broad several meters which delimits large enclosures or the remainders d?amphores, wine tanks, food heaps, sufficiently to nourish several hundreds, to see thousands of guests! However all the other sites festifs of this kind were always found near great urban centers and religious center (Agen, Aix in Provence, Ribemont on Ancre in the Sum, Rodez, Toulouse). No oppidum traces was found at this time but it seems to me doubtful considering the strategic position of the city (with the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone on one of the largest commercial axis) than Eduens (and yes still them; -)) neglected this places. Can be that excavations on the Russet-red Cross will end up revealing such traces unless the Romans by transforming Lougoudounon into Lugdunum did not completely make disappear the traces. Another solution would be that Lougoudounon was a great religious center dedicated to Lug and considered as ground crowned by the Celts what could justify the choice of the Romans to etablish in capital of Gaule. But in this case why not to find the traces of such religious center in the traditional texts?


NB this text although is based on the discoveries presented in the exposition "Lyon avant Lugdunum" and on the article carrying the same title by Matthieu LICE and Hugues SAVAY-GUERRAZ in Ancient Histoire n°10 edition Harnois ISSN 1632 0859 express my own opinion.