It was probably originally raised in Gallia Aquitania in the reign of founder-emperor Augustus after the revolt of the Aquitani was suppressed in 26 BC.

[1] Unlike most Gauls, the Aquitani were not Celtic-speaking but spoke Aquitanian, a now extinct non Indo-European language closely related to Basque.

Holder sees them as two separate units, one of which carried the title veterana and was permanently based in Germania Sup., the other in Britannia.

[3] Holder's view is supported by the fact that none of the British inscriptions carry the title veterana, whereas several of the German ones do, and so appears more likely.

The regiment remained in Britain into the 4th century, as it left an inscription in the Saxon Shore fort of Branodunum (Brancaster, Norfolk).