Page "Gaul" Paragraph 1

Gaul (,,,, ) was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine.

The Gauls were the speakers of the Gaulish language ( an early variety of Celtic ) native to Gaul.

According to the testimony of Julius Caesar, the Gaulish language proper was distinct from the Aquitanian language and the Belgic language.

Archaeologically, the Gauls were bearers of the La Tène culture, which extended across all of Gaul, as well as east to Rhaetia, Noricum, Pannonia and southwestern Germania.