Abstract
The thesis is divided into three parts:
PART I consists of a background review. The particular difficulties of producing a synthetic overview in the light of a massive corpus of material available in local journals and a grossly under - exploited field record are stressed. The evidence for key artefact types, particularly for the terminal stages of the pre -Roman Iron Age, is reconsidered. The later prehistoric record from Limousin is summarised and set into its geographical context. An appendix draws attention to the metal resources of this area.
PART II is made up of a gazetteer of sites and potential sites of Corraze, Creuse and Haute -Vienne. An evaluation of the published evidence, coupled with selective field research, is presented, arranged on a parish basis. Le Tane III is identified as the most widely represented Iron Age period on the sites of Limousin. Excavation evidence is however sparse. An appendix lists presumed medieval works.
PART III attempts to set the evidence from Limousin, particularly in La Téne III, into context. Aspects of the physical record are considered, and the defensive architecture is selected for extensive treatment. Small rectilinear enclosures are discussed in the light of German evidence for cult usage; the increasing evidence for unenclosed settlement is reviewed. Models for the later Iron Age in Limousin are discussed. In an attempt to evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence to argue for a state -level entity in the civitas of the Lemovices at the time of the Gallic War, the historical record is exploited with particular emphasis on de Bello Gallico. Techniques culled from geography are also employed. The key area for comparison is Berry, which undergoes brief reconsideration. For Limousin, the results are inconclusive, and more general doubts are expressed on our ability at present to differentiate between states and other socio-political organisms in La Téne III in the Three Gauls.
