Fighting with his bare fists, and massively outnumbered, France's cockiest Gaul, Asterix, led a brave rebellion against the Roman occupier.

Not only was his little village encircled by Julius Cæsar's troops, it was up against an expanding empire - unequalled in the art of warfare and determined to civilise a backward people who worshipped druids and believed in magic potions. Or so it was thought until now.

But a discovery in central France has led to a significant reassessment of the Gauls, who were, it transpires, much more advanced than previously thought.

Rather than the random gatherings of rudimentary thatched huts illustrated in the Asterix books, first published in 1961, archaeologists now believe the Gauls lived in elegant buildings with tiled roofs, laid out in towns with public squares or forums.

They also crafted metalwork just as complex as anything produced by the Romans, even before the Roman invasion in 52BC.

The findings have been made at a dig in Corent, near Lyon, where archaeologists have uncovered what they believe is the palace of Vercingetorix, the last military leader of all Gaul.

After the Romans arrived, Vercingetorix, a prince who also appears in the Asterix volumes, was taken prisoner, held in a prison in Rome and garroted several years later to celebrate Caesar's triumph.

"What we have found here proves that the Gauls were much more civilised than we thought," Matthieu Poux, the archaeology professor who is heading the dig, told The Sunday Telegraph.

"The Asterix albums will need to be completely rewritten, as they are based on the typical image of the Gauls which has been passed down through the centuries, one of a prehistoric man who lives in the forest. We have discovered that they had not only complex military structures, but civilian and trading structures too.

"Until now Gauls for the French were people who lived in huts among the trees, frightening people. Parents would threaten to send their children to the Gauls if they did not go to sleep.

"But we have discovered large buildings and public spaces which prove there were Gauls of considerable social standing.

"Very high magistrates or nobles lived here, possibly even Vercingetorix. We think we are working on the site where he was given leadership over all of Gaul in order to fight the Roman invasion."

Mr Poux's team has uncovered previously unknown building techniques, elaborate foundations and tiled roofing which together suggest that the architecture in Gaul was just as advanced as that in Rome around 80 to 70BC.

Evidence of a Roman-style forum for public gatherings and a gallery housing boutiques and workshops has also been discovered, together with ironmongers' tools, coins and scales. The dig, which has until now concentrated on small, localised sites, will now be expanded by several miles in the hope of unearthing an entire city.

Gaul's leaders, it would seem, were a far cry from the buffoon cartoon character Abraracourcix (Vitalstatistix in the English version), the chief of Asterix's tribe. His main worry, other than finding food, was that the sky would fall on his head.

However, perhaps not surprisingly, there is resistance to the idea of revising the Asterix stories to reflect the new historical findings.

"I have read about the new discoveries, but to be honest I don't think we will be reworking the Asterix stories," said Florence Richaud, a spokesman for Albert René, publishers of the series of albums. "The illustrator Albert Uderzo did try to make it authentic, but rather than educational material these are stories designed basically to make children laugh."

Mr Uderzo, 80, who has illustrated all of the Asterix adventures, is working on his memoirs and has no plans to give new life to his ferocious, moustached creation.