Switzerland in the Iron Age: The Helvetii, a myth under the microscope

The Helvetians have certainly shaped Switzerland's identity. But recent discoveries show that the Helvetians only arrived on the Swiss plateau in the 1st century BC. By 58 BC, they were eager to leave and emigrate to south-west Gaul. The role of the Helvetii is re-examined, and thus the origins of the Confœderatio Helvetica. The culture of the Celts, their customs and thought, reveal a little-known world far beyond the usual clichés. The Roman occupation soon imposed a new way of life, with the passage into history and the end of an era.