Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/159

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THE BATTLE OF THE VINGEANNE.
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discoveries of horse-shoes in Britain; in the mean time we must not forget to mention, that these researches and speculations on the treasures found in the tumuli surrounding the ruins of the ancient city of Alesia, are supplemented by similar discoveries in the neighbourhood, of articles which may be referred to the same period.

During the war in Gaul, Cæsar had often to encounter the brave and numerous cavalry of Vercingetorix, the Gaulish general. Before the blockade of Alesia, a severe cavalry engagement took place on the Vingeanne, near Longeau, which resulted in the defeat of the Gaulish horse. The Emperor Napoleon thus alludes to the historical proofs of this event:—'The field of battle of the Vingeanne, which M. H. Defay, of Langres, first pointed out, answers perfectly to all the requirements of the Latin narrative, and moreover, material proofs exist which are undeniable evidences of the struggle. We allude to the tumuli which are found, some at Prauthoy, others on the banks of the Vingeanne, at Dardenay, and Cusey, and those which, at Pressant, Rivières-les-Fosses, Chamberceau, and Vesores, mark, as it were, the line of retreat of the Gaulish army, to a distance of twelve kilomètres. Two of these tumuli are situated near each other, between Prauthoy and Montsaugeon. There is one near Dardenay, three to the west of Cusey, one at Rivières-les-Fosses, another at Chamberceau. We will not mention those which have been destroyed by agriculture, but which are still remembered by the inhabitants. Researches lately made in these tumuli have brought to light skeletons, many of which had bronze bracelets round the arms and legs, calcined bones of men and horses,