The Cavares were a Gallic

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

 tribe, or a federation of tribes, located in the lower Rhone valley. Their strongholds were Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

 (Avennio), Orange

Orange, Vaucluse

Orange is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It has a primarily agricultural economy...

 (Arausio) and Cavaillon

Cavaillon

Cavaillon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:The Calavon, a tributary of the Durance locally called Coulon, flows westward through the middle of the commune....

 (Cabellio). Their closest neighbours were the Segallauni, the Tricastini, the Salyes

Salyes

The powerful military tribal confederation of the Salyes or Salluvii in ancient geography, occupied the plain of the Druentia in southern Gaul between the Rhône River and the Alps...

, the Albici (or Albioeci) and the Vocontii

Vocontii

The Vocontii were a Gallic people who lived on the east bank of the Rhône.-Location:Their main towns were Lucus Augusti and Vasio , but they occupied an extensive territory stretching from Vercors in the north, the buttresses of Mont Ventoux in the south-west, Manosque in the south-east and...

.

Etymology

Cauares is believed to be a Gaulish

Gaulish language

The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...

 ethnic name meaning "Heroes, Champions"; it is likely related to Old Irish caur "hero, champion warrior" and Welsh cawr, "giant, hero".

Archaeology

The Tarasque

Tarasque

The Tarasque is a fearsome legendary dragon from Provence, in southern France, tamed in a story about Saint Martha. On 25 November 2005 the UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity....

 de Noves anthropophagous statue, displayed in the Musée Calvet in Avignon, is attributed to the Cavares.