Itium

Itium is a difficult-to-define area in Ancient Gaul . She was sought most often in Boulogne , Vissan , Ambletesis and the mouth of the Somme .

Itium is the name given by the commander Julius Caesar to the main port, which he used as a starting point during his second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. e ^[1] . Most likely the port was located near the hills around Cape Green ( lat. Promuntorium Itium ), but the exact location is debatable. It is possible that Caesar used the same port during his first expedition, but he himself does not mention the name of the port at all ^[2] . From this it is concluded that the starting points of the two campaigns were different places. By all accounts, during the first expedition Caesar went to Britain from Boulogne. The same opinion was widely spread about the second expedition, but T. Rice Holmes, in his article in the Classical Review (May 1909 ), gave good reason to search for Itius at Wissant four miles east of Cape Green. The main evidence of Holmes is that Caesar could not simultaneously place 80 ships in a small harbor of Boulogne.

Boulogne was supposed to be the starting point for the conquest of Britain by Avlus Plavius ​​in 43, although Dion Cassius did not write about this ^[3] . Emperor Claudius sent Plavius ​​reinforcements from Gezoriac (modern Boulogne) ^[4] .