The Fortification of Gaul and the Economy of the Third and Fourth Centuries

An effort is made here to cast light on three areas related to converting the open urbs of Bordeaux into a fortress city during the later third and early fourth centuries. First, some tentative estimates are offered regarding various aspects of the expenditure of human, animal, and material resources that were involved in this project. Secondly, using Bordeaux as a guide, some even more tentative suggestions are made regarding the overall costs of the strategic initiatives that resulted in the fortification of some one hundred cites. Finally, some suggestions are made regarding whether this type of exercise can be of some value, if perhaps only heuristically, in helping us to understand the economic and demographic nature of the "Crisis of the Third Century" in light of its aftermath.