The name Atuatuca or Aduatuca as it’s sometimes mentioned, is translated from Celtic as “the place of the prophet” (Lauran Toorians, “Aduatuca, ‘place of the prophet’. The names of the Eburones as representatives of a Celtic language, with an excursus on Tungri”, in ATVATVCA / Publications of the Gallo-Roman Museum 4, 108-121, 2013).
Julius Caesar, in his Gallic War mentions among the Gallic tribes also the Eburones who in the Winter of 54/53BC attacked the Roman XIV Legion which had its quarters at Atuatuca, led by their king Ambiorix. As retaliation for their act, Caesar massacred the Ebures in the Spring of 53AD. Their place is taken by the Germanic tribe of Tungri, who also give the name of the modern Tongeren.
Today, although the city of Tongeren preserves a Roman wall, it is well acknowledged that it is not the Atuatuca from the Roman period since there is no evidence of the presence of a Roman legion.
In the city center, one can visit the Gallo-Romeins Museum (Gallo-Roman Museum), dedicated to prehistoric times and Roman age of the region in South East Flanders. In 2011 the museum received the European Museum of the Year Award.
In the period 21 October 2023 – 2 June 2024, the Museum hosts a temporary exposition entitled Antiquity in Colour where is shown how the marble statues would have looked liked in Antiquity when they were in fact … painted.
