Les fortifications de Besançon durant l’Antiquité tardive, révision du dossier et proposition d’une nouvelle hypothèse

Abstract

The sources certainly attest to the fact that Besançon was equipped with a rampart as early as the middle of the 4th century B. C. The hypothesis that has prevailed in recent years was that the religious and public institutions of Vesontio were entrenched behind a bell-shaped fortification installed at the foot of the mountain overlooking the meander of the Doubs where the ancient town developed. A reexamination of the file shows that the arguments put forward no longer appear sufficiently solid. This observation motivated the re-examination of the questions of the implantation of the late antique fortifications within the very particular topographical context of Besançon.

Keywords

• castrum
• Antiquité tardive
• Besançon
• fortifications
• Vesontio
• IVe siècle