Titelberg

Titelberg (Luxembourgish: Tëtelbierg) is the site of a large Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme south west of Luxembourg.

The Celts inhabited large areas of Europe from the Danube to the Rhine and Rhône during the 6th to 1st centuries BCE, a period sometimes referred to as La Tène after a site in Switzerland where continental Celtic remains were first discovered.

They constructed a number of settlements or oppida near the Moselle valley in what is now southern Luxembourg, western Germany and eastern France.

[2] Titelberg was by far the largest of the Treveri settlements, no doubt as a result of its proximity to two of the most important Celtic roads, one from the south connecting the Rhone to the upper Moselle and the north, the other leading to Reims and the west.

Covering an area of some 50 ha, the oval-shaped Titelberg plateau is approximately 1 km long (NW to SE) and 500 m wide.

These, together with the 9-m high earthen ramparts around the periphery, clearly demonstrate the importance of the Celtic oppidum which appears to have been the seat of the Treveri chiefs.

The Celtic tombs excavated in the vicinity, specifically at Clemency, at Scheierheck near Goeblange and at Kreckelbierg near Nospelt contain a range of articles including wine flagons, spurs, knives, lances and oil lanterns testifying to the aristocracy of those buried.

The residential area covering about 30 ha consisted of rectangular houses, 14 m long by 8 m wide, built of light masonry.

[6] About 20 years after the Roman conquest, the Celtic oppidum was completely reworked and at least two streets perpendicular to the main were constructed.