What was the Cubi-Biturge Confederacy?

**MSB** · 10-20-2006, 19:45

On the EB history pages (for the Gallic factions) I always end up reading the words "Cubi-Biturge Confederacy" several times. What does it mean, what was this ancient confederacy? Could a member of EB enlighten me what the Cubi-Biturge Confederacy actually was?

Also at the same time could somebody please tell me what the Western World (Gaul, Britain, Ireland, Germania) was like in 1000BC.

Thankyou

**MarcusAureliusAntoninus** · 10-20-2006, 20:15

Northwest Europe has some of the oldest stone "structures" in the world, so there were semi-advanced people there well befor 1000BC. Gaul and Germania were both heavily forested (with those huge trees everyone hates).

And they had developed ways of crafting copper way earlier than I had originally thought. Ever heard of the guy found frozen in the alps with an arrow in his back, from 5000 years ago. The gauls were more advanced sooner than most history (mostly Roman) would have you believe.

No written record of this areas and times makes it hard to reconstruct though.

**tk-421** · 10-20-2006, 21:29

I don't really know what the Cubi-Biturige confederation was. I think that the Biturages were a Gallic tribe that was powerful before the Aedui and Arverni, but I'm not sure. Psycho or Anthony or maybe somebody else could tell you a lot more.

**MSB** · 10-20-2006, 21:39

I know that in my "The Last Two Million Years Book" in 1000BC, on the map showing the positions of the factions of the time, Belgium has the word Celts written over it in large italic letters. Were these early Celts unified or were they a large collection of tribes that were reasonably disunited? And were the Cubi-Biturges around in those days? Does anybody have any sources about what the tribes were like in the Bronze/Copper Age? Oddly Wikipedia has nothing about the tribes of that era.

**Geoffrey S** · 10-20-2006, 23:47

Originally Posted by Avlvs Brittanicus

I know that in my "The Last Two Million Years Book" in 1000BC, on the map showing the positions of the factions of the time, Belgium has the word Celts written over it in large italic letters. Were these early Celts unified or were they a large collection of tribes that were reasonably disunited? And were the Cubi-Biturges around in those days? Does anybody have any sources about what the tribes were like in the Bronze/Copper Age? Oddly Wikipedia has nothing about the tribes of that era.

Not quite Celts, rather a precursor called the Hallstatt culture. Originally spreading from what is now Switzerland it became the predominant culture throughout western Europe though connected loosely by trade and culture.

A quick check yielded some results, but I'll have to check the university library for certainty. The Bituriges were the most powerful Celtic grouping around the 6th century, allegedly controlling most of central Gaul in what Livy compares to a golden age. Originally one group, they split into at least two groups, one of which was the Bituriges-Cubi with their capital at Avaricum. The collapse precipated the formation of many independant tribes, with the Aedui ultimately claiming the power of the Bituriges.

**Slartibardfast** · 10-21-2006, 02:55

These might help as starting pionts.

http://www.donaldhs.vic.edu.au/home/...ic_Tribes.html

http://www.geocities.com/mariamnephi...ropa/gaul.html

**Taliferno** · 10-20-2006, 22:56

I know that Ireland at 1000BC (which was way before the Cubi-Biturges I believe) was quite advanced with Irish Gold being found as far away as egypt (showing the various trade networks active around europe)Also Hillforts start to appear in Ireland at this time, 800 years before they started to appear in Britain. Broches (round stone towers) also appeared in Ireland, but no where near the same numbers as in Scotland. An interesting fact is that more artefacts and archaeological sites come from this time period (the bronze age) in Ireland than nearly any other period, with only the early christian period comong close

At around about 500BC it appears the Irish stopped building houses, hillforts and so on (there are a few exceptions) and seemed to entirely disapear. Were it not for activity at the various 'royal sites' you would not know that anyone lived there. Why this happend is not known, though the arguments range from a change of life style (ie, becoming more nomadic), invasion/civil war or even comets/meteors. It wasnt until about 0 ad did 'signs of life' start to reappear in Ireland, with the construction of black pigs dyke being the most obvious example.