BAVAI  , a

town of northern France in the department of Nord, 15 M . E.S.E. of Valenciennes by rail . Pop . (1906) 1622 . The town carries on the manufacture of iron goods and of fertilizers . Under the name of Bagacum or Bavacum it was the capital of the Nervii and, under the Romans, an important centre of roads, the meeting-place of which was marked by a milestone, destroyed in the 17th century and replaced in the 19th century by a column . Bavai was destroyed during the barbarian invasions and never recovered its old importance . It suffered much during the wars of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries .