The Venostes were a Celts or Rhaetian people tribe dwelling in the present-day Vinschgau Valley (Val Venosta) during the Iron Age.
Name
They are mentioned as
Venostes by Pliny (1st c. AD).
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.]
Geography
The Venostes dwelled in the
Vinschgau valley. Their territory extended eastwards as far as Mount Töll. They could have been located south of the
Focunates, west of the
Isarci and
Brixentes (there is, though, no scholarly agreement where the Brixentes lived),
[Ernst Meyer: Die geschichtlichen Nachrichten über die Räter und ihre Wohnsitze. In: Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte. Vol. 55, 1970, p. 119—125] north of the
Tuliassi, and east of the
Rugusci.
[, Map 19: Raetia.]
History
They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the
Tropaeum Alpium.
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.] According to Gerhard H. Waldherr, since tribes are listed in the order of their subjugation to Rome, the Venostes and the
Camunni may have been subjugated in 16 BC by the Roman pro-consul P. Silius.
The Venostes appear as the fourth tribe in the inscription on the Tropaeum Alpium. In the secondary tradition of the text by Pliny the Elder their position in the list was exchanged with the Vennonetes and the Venostes appear as the third tribe.[Jules Formigé: La dédicace du Trophée des Alpes (La Turbie). In: Gallia. Vol. 13, 1955, No. 1, p. 101—102.]
Culture
Their ethnic identity remains unclear. They have been variously described as a Celtic or as a Rhaetian tribe.
Primary sources
Bibliography
