Elne

Elne (Catalan Elna) is a town and commune of southwestern France, in the Pyr?n?es-Orientales d?partement. Population (1999): 6,473. Its inhabitants are still called Illib?riens in reference to the city's Celtiberian name, Illliberis, one that it shared with the Illiberis that became Elvira, Spain

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Elne, from the heights of its fortified site, dominates the narrow plain of Rousillon between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. Numerous archeological researches have shown that the surrounding countryside has been occupied since Neolithic times. Elne was a Celtiberian oppidum or fortified town. Elne is the oldest town in Roussillon and since it is situated on the way towards the Iberian_peninsula, successive civilisations have left their traces. The first mention of Illiberis occurs in the history of Livy (xxi.24) http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Hor_Lv21_24 : it was the Celtiberian city at which Hannibal pitched camp having crossed the Pyrenees in 218 BCE, where he negotiated with the assembled Gaulish chiefs his safe passage through their territories on the way to Italy. In the first century CE, however, it was no more than "a modest vestige of a hitherto great city" (Pliny).

Catalan: Catalan can refer to:...

Commune: A commune or comune is a system of social and economic organization which involves the common ownership of resources and/or shared obligations. Within that framework, the word can have various meanings:...

France: The French Republic or France (: R?publique fran?aise or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents....