VESUNNA(Οὐέσουνα), according to Ptolemy (Ptol. 2.7.12) the capital of the Petrocorii, a people of Aquitania. In inscriptions the name is written Vesunna. The place occurs in the Itins., and its position is Périgeux, in the old province of Périgord, which name as well as Périgueuxis a memorial of the name of the people, Petrocorii. But it is said that the remains of the old town are still called La Vésone. Périgueuxis on the Ille, a branch of the Dordogne, and it is the capital of the department of Dordogne.
There is no Roman city in France of which we know so little that contains so many remains as Périgueux. Foundations of ancient buildings, mosaics, statues, and ruins of edifices show its former magnitude. The tour de Véone, a round building constructed of small stones and of rough materials, is supposed to have been the cella of a temple, or a tomb, as, some conjecture. It is about 200 feet in circumference. There were seven bridges at Vesunna, four of which have been repaired or rebuilt. There are some remains of an amphitheatre of large dimensions. Several aqueducts supplied the town with water. There are also remains of a Roman citadel. On a hill which commands Vesunna, and is separated from it by the river Iíle, there are the remains of a Roman camp, which is called Camp de César, though Caesar never was there; but some of his successors may have been. There are several other Roman camps about Périgueux. Several Roman roads have been traced leading to Périgueux. Vesunna seems to have been an important position in Aquitania during the imperial government of Rome. There is a French work on the antiquities of Vésoneby M. Wlgrin de Tailleffer, 2 vols. 4to. 1821, Périgueux.
[G.L]