Statue gauloise

At the end of the 1st century B.C., after the Gallic War, the emporion of Burdigala doubled its surface area by developing mainly towards the bank of the Garonne. It is not excluded that this expansion could be linked to the arrival of populations from the center of Gaul (Bituriges from the Bourges region) or from closer territories such as the Santons (Saintes region). This last hypothesis could be validated by the discovery of this limestone statue representing a very "Romanized" Gallic chief, who was holding a spear with his right hand and whose left arm was resting on a Gallic-type shield. Indeed, the limestone in which this work was executed probably comes from the region of Pons (Charente-Maritime, determination J.-P. Platel, BRGM)), which is the ancient oppidum of Santons deserted at the end of the 1st century BC.

Victorious

Cthis statue discovered in Bordeaux and dated to the 1st century BC. J.-C. represents a romanized Gallic chief, holding a spear in his right hand, and leaning on a Gallic-type shield. Like its contemporary, the Warrior of Vachères, preserved in the Calvet Museum in Avignon, we see in the Bordeaux warrior an early Gallo-Roman hybridization in the military equipment, as well as the importance of the warrior theme in the representation of prestige. Here, the leader does not fight, but poses proudly, leaning on his shield. The choice is thus made not to represent the warrior in action but rather to emphasize his respectable status. Indeed, the social distinction is all the more important in a period where latent violence favors the presence of a warrior elite.