Gaulish suexsos 'sixth', Irish sé, Welsh chwech 'six'), after a Gallic custom of including numbers in tribal names (e.g. Vo-contii, Vo-corii, Tri-corii, Petru-corii).[1][2] The oppidum of Villeneuve-Saint-Germain, founded on a plain near the Aisne river in the middle of the 1st century BC, was the main settlement of the Suessiones before the Roman conquest.[16] According to archaeologist Jean-Louis Brunaux, large-scale migrations occurred in the northern part of Gaul in the late 4th–early 3rd century BC, which may correspond to the coming of the Belgae.[18] Until the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Suessiones shared a common cultural identity with the neighbouring Remi, which with they were linked by the same law, the same magistrates and a unified commander-in-chief.The dependency of the Suessiones upon the Remi appears to have lasted until the beginning of the 1st century AD, and a Roman military presence is attested in Suessionean territory at the camp of Arlaines (Ressons-le-Long) until the Flavian period.[19] In Augusta Suessionum were found a votive stele dedicated to the native goddess Camuloriga (Camloriga), and a statuette of the Roman god Mercury.[20] The divine name Camuloriga stems from the Gaulish term camulos, possibly translated as 'champion, servant' (denoting one who makes efforts) and attached to the suffix -riga- (< rigani 'queen'; compare with Old Irish rígain 'queen').
A map of
Gaul
in the 1st century BC, showing the relative positions of the Celtic tribes