Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1355

 UXAMABAECA. tlie roail from Asturica to Caesaraugusta, 50 miles W. of Numantia, and in the neighbourhood of Clu- nia (/<<«. Ant. p. 441), where, however, the more recent editions read Vasania. (Phn. iii. 3. s. 4; Flor. iii. 22 ; Sil. Ital. iii. 384.) It is called Uxuma in the Geogr. L'av. (iv. 43); and according to Ukert (ii. pt. i. p. 45.5), is probably the 'A|eiVioi' of Appian (vi. 47). Now Osma. [T. H. D.] UXAMABARCA (06|a,iia§ap;fa, Ptol. ii. 6. § 53), a town of the Autrigones in Hispania Tarraco- nensis. (Murat. Inscr. p. 1095. 8.) Ukert (ii. pt. i. p. 446) identifies it with Osma in Blscaya. [T. H. D.] UXANTIS INSULA, for so the name should be read in the Maritime Itin., is Miny's Axantos (iv. 30), an island off the Atlantic coast of Gallia. Uxantis is Ouessant, or Ushant, as the English often write it, a small island belonging to the depart- ment of Finistere, and nearly in the latitude of Brest. [G. L.] UXELLA (Ot^eWa, Ptol. ii. 3. § 10), called by the Geogr. Rav. (v. 30) Uxeli, a city of the Dumnonii in Britannia Roniana. Camden (p. 18) identifies it with the little town of Lostwithiel in Cmiiwall ; whilst Horsley (p. 378) and others take it to be Exeter. [T. H. D.] UXELLODU'NUM, in Gallia. In b. c. 51 Drap- pes a Senon and Lucterius a Cadurcan, who had given the Romans much trouble, being pursued by C. Caninius Rebilus, one of Caesar's legates, took refuge in Uxellodunum, a town of the Cadurci (^B. G. viii. 32 — 44): Uxellodunum was in a posi- tion naturally strong, protected by rocks so steep that an armed man could hardly climb up, even if no resistance were made. A deep valley surrounded nearly the whole elevation on which the town stood, and a river flowed at the bottom of the valley. The interval where the river did not flow round the steep sides of this natural fortress was only 300 feet wide, and along this part ran the town wall. Close to the wall was a large spring, which supplied the town during the siege, for the inhabitants could not get down the rocks to the river for water without risk of their lives from the Roman missiles. Cani- nius began his blockade of Uxellodunum by making three camps on very high ground, with the intention of gradually drawing a vallum from each camp, and surrounding the place. On the river side his camps were of course separated from the town by the deep valley in which the river flowed; he may have planted two camps here and one on the land side of Uxellodunum. The tovrnsmen remembering what had happened at Alesia the year before, sent out Lucterius and Drappes to bring supplies into the place. Lucterius and Drappes took all the fighting men for this pur- pose except 2000, and they collected a large quan- tity of corn; but as Lucterius was attempting to carry it into the town by night, the Romans sur- prised him, and cut his men to piece?. The other part of the force which had gone out was with Drappes about 12 miles off. Caninius sent his cavalry and light German troops against Drappes to surprise him, and he followed with a legion. His success was most complete. Drappes was taken prisoner and his force destroyed or captured. Ca- ninius was now enabled to go on with his circuin- vallation without fear of interruption from without, and C. Fabius arriving the next day with his troops undertook the blockade of part of the town. Caesar hearing the news about Uxellodunnni and resolving to check all further risings in Gallia by UXELLODUNUM. 1331 one signal example more, hurried to the place with all his cavalry, ordering C. Calenus and two legions to follow him by regular marches. He found the place shut in, but it was well supplied with pro- visions, as the deserters told him; and there remained nothing to do but to cut off the townsmen from the water. By his archers and slingers, and by his en- gines for discharging missiles (tormenta) placed oppo- site those parts of the town where the descent to the river was easiest, he attempted to prevent the enemy from coming down to the river to get water. His next operation was to cut them off from the spring, and this was the great operation of the siege on which depended the ca[iture of the town. Caesar dealt with his enemies as a doctor with a disease — he cut off the supplies. (Frontinus, Strat. iv. 7. 1.) He moved his vineae towards that part of the town where the spring lay under the wall, and this was the isthmus which connected the hill fort with the open country. He also began to construct mounds of earth, while the townsmen from the higher groimd annoyed the Romans with missiles. Still the Ro- mans pushed on their vineae and their earthworks, and at the same time began to form mines (cuniculi) to reach the source of water and draw it off. A mound of earth 9 feet high was constructed, and a tower of ten stories was placed upon it, not high enough to be on a level with the top of the wall, but high enough to command the summit level of the spring. Thus they prevented the enemy from reaching the spring, and a great number of cattle, horses, and men died of thirst. The townsmen now tumbled down blazing barrels filled with fat, pitch, and chips of wood, and began a vigorous onset to prevent the Romans from quenching the flames; for the burning materials being stopped in their descent by the vineae and mounds, set the Roman works on fire. On this Caesar ordered his men to scale the heights on all sides and to divert the defendants from the land side by a feint of attacking the walls. This drew the enemy from the fire; and all their force was em.ployed in manning the walls. In the meantime the Romans put out the fire or cut it off. The obstinate resistance of the enemy was terminated by the spring being completely dried up by the diversion of the water through the subter- raneous passages which theR<imans had constructed; and they surrendered after many of them had died of thirst. To terrify the Galli by a signal example, Caesar cut off the hands of all the fighting men who remained alive. The attack and defence of Uxellodunum contain a full description of the site. This iiill-fort was surrounded by a river on all sides except one, and on this side also the approach to it was steep. It is agreed that Uxellodunum was somewhere either on tiie Oltis {Lot) or on the Duranius {Jhrdogne). D'Anville places it at Puech dlssolit, on a small stream named the Tourmente, which flows into the Dordorine after passing Pitech dlssolu. He was informed by some person acquainted with the locality that the spring still exist.s, and we may assume that to be true, for Caesar could not destroy the source: he only drew off the water, so that the besieged could not get at it. D'Anville adds that what ap- peared to be the entrance of tiie place is called in tlie country le portail de Rome, and tiiat a hill which is clo.se to the Pttecli, is named Bd-Cnstel. But this distinguished geographer had no exact jilan of the place, and had not seen it. Walckenaor {Gepff. des Gaules, i. p. 353) affirms that the plan of Puech 4 Q 2