Itius Portus
Encyclopedia
Itius Portus or Portus Itius, an ancient Roman name for a port in Picardy, of unknown location. The main candidates are Wissant
and Boulogne, more usually called Gesoriacum, and later, Bononia
.
to the chief harbour which he used when embarking for his second expedition
to Britain in 54 BC
.
It was certainly near the uplands round Cap Gris Nez
(Promunturium Itium), but the exact site has been violently disputed ever since the Renaissance
. Many critics have assumed that Caesar used the same port for his first expedition, but the name does not appear at all in that connection. This fact, coupled with other considerations, makes it probable that the two expeditions started from different places.
It is generally agreed that he first embarked at Boulogne
. The same view was widely held about the second, but T. Rice Holmes
in an article in the Classical Review (May 1909) gave strong reasons for preferring Wissant
, 4 miles east of Gris Nez
. The chief reason is that Caesar, having found he could not set sail from the small harbour of Boulogne with even eighty ships simultaneously, decided that he must take another point for the sailing of the more than 800 ships of the second expedition. Holmes argues that, allowing for change in the foreshore since Caesar's time, 800 specially built ships could have been hauled above the highest spring-tide level, and afterwards launched simultaneously at Wissant, which would therefore have been commodissimus or opposed to brevissimus traiectus.
's abortive invasion of Britain ca. AD 40 was probably to have departed from Boulogne. The Roman lighthouse
which once stood there is believed to have been built by him.
Boulogne is presumed to have been the point of departure for the conquest of Britain
of 43 under Aulus Plautius
, although the only surviving account of the invasion, that of Cassius Dio, does not mention it. The emperor Claudius
followed later with reinforcements, and Suetonius
tells us he sailed from Gesoriacum.
Wissant
Wissant is a seaside commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:...
and Boulogne, more usually called Gesoriacum, and later, Bononia
Bononia
Bononia is the Roman name of several cities, including:* Bologna, Italy* Boulogne-sur-Mer, France* Vidin, Bulgaria* Banoštor, Serbia...
.
Caesar
Itius Portus was the name given by Julius CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
to the chief harbour which he used when embarking for his second expedition
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
to Britain in 54 BC
54 BC
Year 54 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Appius and Ahenobarbus...
.
It was certainly near the uplands round Cap Gris Nez
Cap Gris Nez
Cap Gris Nez is a cape on the Côte d'Opale in the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France....
(Promunturium Itium), but the exact site has been violently disputed ever since the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. Many critics have assumed that Caesar used the same port for his first expedition, but the name does not appear at all in that connection. This fact, coupled with other considerations, makes it probable that the two expeditions started from different places.
It is generally agreed that he first embarked at Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
. The same view was widely held about the second, but T. Rice Holmes
T. Rice Holmes
Thomas Rice Edward Holmes , who usually published as T. Rice Holmes or T.R.E. Holmes, was a scholar best known for his extensive and "fundamental" work on Julius Caesar and his Gallic War commentaries....
in an article in the Classical Review (May 1909) gave strong reasons for preferring Wissant
Wissant
Wissant is a seaside commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:...
, 4 miles east of Gris Nez
Cap Gris Nez
Cap Gris Nez is a cape on the Côte d'Opale in the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France....
. The chief reason is that Caesar, having found he could not set sail from the small harbour of Boulogne with even eighty ships simultaneously, decided that he must take another point for the sailing of the more than 800 ships of the second expedition. Holmes argues that, allowing for change in the foreshore since Caesar's time, 800 specially built ships could have been hauled above the highest spring-tide level, and afterwards launched simultaneously at Wissant, which would therefore have been commodissimus or opposed to brevissimus traiectus.
Subsequent invasions
CaligulaCaligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
's abortive invasion of Britain ca. AD 40 was probably to have departed from Boulogne. The Roman lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
which once stood there is believed to have been built by him.
Boulogne is presumed to have been the point of departure for the conquest of Britain
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain was a gradual process, beginning effectively in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, whose general Aulus Plautius served as first governor of Britannia. Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and...
of 43 under Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.-Career:...
, although the only surviving account of the invasion, that of Cassius Dio, does not mention it. The emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
followed later with reinforcements, and Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
tells us he sailed from Gesoriacum.
External links
- Portus Itius at LacusCurtiusLacusCurtiusLacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in January 2008 it had "2786 pages, 690 photos, 675 drawings & engravings, 118 plans, 66 maps." The site is the...
: the Britannica article and 8 journal articles laying out the arguments for Boulogne and Wissant.