Late Roman Fortifications in the Northwest: New Methods and Approaches

It has been over 30 years since the production of the key volume, La Gaule septentrionale au Bas-Empire by Raymond Brulet (1990), former director of the CRAN. In the last 30 years, the increasing interest in defence and its impact has seen out understanding develop and grow. New excavations and analysis have begun to change our picture of fortified landscape between the late 3^rd and late 5^th centuries AD across the German provinces and Gallia Belgica. They are to be examined in an international conference organized in Louvain-la-Neuve by Dr James Dodd , FSR postdoc at the CRAN/INCA.

The meeting aims to bring together archaeologists studying the defence of the northwestern provinces of the Late Roman Empire to discuss and debate new developments in the field. The pattern of defended highways and Höhensiedlungen has been expanded, with a wide diversity of forms, topographies and settlements now known. Recent work (Bayard and Fourdrin 2019) has demonstrated that the time is ripe for further examination, debate and discussion of defence on a regional level, upgrading our methods and approaches, as well as navigating a path forward for the field. There will be a focus on the development of new analysis as well as the wider integration of regional defences, including the interaction of these sites with the defence of the Gallic Diocese. Studies on thematic groups, including military installations, urban defences and the proliferation of other forms of defensive architecture, will also be undertaken.