Saint-Denis-lès-Martel
Saint-Denis-lès-Martel (, literally "Saint-Denis near Martel"; Languedocien: "Sent Daunís de Martèl") is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. Geography. The commune of Saint-Denis-lès-Martel is located in Quercy, in the "Causse de Martel". It is watered by two tributaries of the Dordogne, the Sourdoire which borders the communal territory to the southeast, and the Tourmente. Neighbouring municipalities. Saint-Denis-lès-Martel is adjacent to five other communes. Toponymy. The toponym Saint-Denis-lès-Martel, in Occitan "Sent Daunís", is based on the Christian Hagiotoponyme, Denis de Paris  (Dionysius): first Bishop of Paris. "Lès "comes from "Lez", a preposition from the late Latin "latus" meaning next to. Sent Daunís was called first Lenzac variant of Lanzac. During the French Revolution, the commune, then simply named "Saint-Denis", bears the name of "Seu-Denis". The appendix lès-Martel was added to the name of the municipality in 1890. Its inhabitants are called the Saint-Dyonésiens. History. It is in the present territory of Saint-Denis-lès-Martel, on the slopes of the Puy d'Issolud, formerly Uxellodunum, the last battle for the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar occurred during  the summer of 51 B.C. after the shocks of Gergovia and Alésia in 52 B.C.. This ultimate victory in the land of the "Cadurques", that marked the beginning of the Roman occupation of all Gaul, was acquired by a ruse of Caesar who besieged the Gauls of the Uxellodunum oppidum with his legionaries and dug underground galleries that deprived the occupants of their main water supply (the current fountain of Loulié). On April 26, 2001, the work of the team of the archaeologist J.P. Girault was officially recognised by the Ministry of Culture in Toulouse, identifying "Uxellodunum" with the "puy  d'Issolud" located in the Lot on the right bank of the Dordogne river in the commune of Vayrac and partly in that of Saint-Denis-lès-Martel, source of the Fountain of Loulié, place of the siege and the capture of the source by the Romans.