Urban defence and the Visigoths: new light on fortification design and technology from the Royal City of Reccopolis (Guadalajara, Spain)

Abstract

There is a lack of individual and overarching studies of defensive systems after the Roman collapse in the West, as well as of urban defences in Hispania during the Visigothic period. A key site for questioning the latter is the walled royal Visigothic foundation of Reccopolis. The first excavations on Reccopolis' circuit wall began in the 1980s, and later investigations were carried out in some areas of the defensive system. However, until now no comprehensive analysis has brought together the evidence from all of these excavations, LiDAR scans, a 3D survey of the extant structure, and a set of new radiocarbon dates. All of these data allow us to interpret what is so far the only Visigothic defensive curtain wall whose entire layout is known, as well as to explore parallels with Byzantine military forms. This paper highlights the urban and architectural value, but also the apparent uniqueness, of the Reccopolis enceinte within the Iberian Peninsula