NEMETOBRIGA: SACRED CITY OF THE ASTURES

Nemetobriga (30 B.C.-640 A.D.) was cited by Ptolomeus as a city or capital of the Asturian tribe of the Tiburos, one of the fourteen Asturian tribes numbered by Adolf Schulten in his work. It is also mentioned in the Antoninus itinerary as a stop between Astorga and Braga on the Roman route called Via Nova (New Route) or Route XVIII.

Most historians localise it in what is today Puebla de Trives or Trives Viejo, in Ourense.

The etimology of these toponyms is quite clear and undoubtedly Celtic. NEMETO-BRIGA, “Sacred City/Sanctuary”, where the element ‘briga’ comes from the well-known Celtic ‘ bhrgh-‘ ([bh ]>[b], [r], >[ri], [gh], >[g]), known in the proto-Germanics “burg-“.

This toponym is found  in some  European cities with ties to Celtic culture: “Nemetacum” in Belgian Gallia, the French city of Arres; “Nemetodorum”, The French city of Nanterre; “Vernemetum”, in the English county of Nottinghamshire; “Medionemetum” in Scotland…