Man has been around this region forever; it’s true, for the areas around the Pyrenees are one of the oldest inhabited places on earth. This fact supplies Gascons with a solid foundation that they live somewhere with a lot of history. And the evidence is everywhere, from cave paintings and onwards a mammoth journey from the past to the present and some places haven’t changed at all.

Constantly invaded the only original inhabitants left in the region are the Basques who have made their permanent domain on the Atlantic coast. It is said the God created man from the bones he took from a Basque cemetery, which is a pretty good credential for their desire to stay put. The Celts were the first large-scale invaders to arrive in 800 BC. but their only surviving influence are in names such as Auch (Auscii) and Garonne River (Garunni) as well as several remains of earthen forts in the hills around the Pyrenees.

The Romans arrived in full around the 2nd century BC. and changed the look of the region quite definitely by founding cities all over the place, some where there were already settlements such as Agen and Lectoure whilst others for strategic reasons like St. Bertrand-de-Comminges, a lot which still remains and is still being excavated. The most exciting, especially for fanatics are the ruins of a magnificent Roman Villa of Seviac near Montreal in the Gers, which was exposed in 1961 and shows just how well the Romans lived, which is probably why they were chased out by the forth century.

The next few centuries were pretty lawless for the region and only calmed down when the kingdom of Navarre began to evolve after the death of Charlemagne in the 8th century, but more from them later. The dynasty even survived Norman attacks which became an annual event in the region until the Duke of Gascony managed to destroy a large Norman fort at Dax and they realised it was time to go.