The district of the Quadragesima Galliarum et Portus Lirensis

The district of the Quadragesima Galliarum, the Fortieth of the Gauls, was named after the Three Gauls: Gallia Celtica or Lugdunensis, Gallia Aquitania, and Gallia Belgica. It was established by Augustus or Tiberius. At its greatest extension it also included Gallia Narbonensis, Germania Inferior and Superior, and the Alpes Maritimae, Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, and Alpes Cottiae.

The banks of the Rhine and the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and of the Channel were originally two separate districts, added during the reign of Trajan or Hadrian. The existence of the latter district is deduced by De Laet from a passage in Strabo's Geography, written in the early Imperial period. About the chieftains of Britain (at that time not yet a province of the Empire) he says:

They submit so easily to heavy duties, both on the exports from there to Celtica and on the imports from Celtica (these latter are ivory chains and necklaces, and amber-gems and glass vessels and other petty wares of that sort), that there is no need of garrisoning the island; for one legion, at the least, and some cavalry would be required in order to carry off tribute from them, and the expense of the army would offset the tribute-money; in fact, the duties must necessarily be lessened if tribute is imposed, and, at the same time, dangers be encountered, if force is applied.

Strabo, Geopgraphy IV,5,3. Translation H.L. Jones.

The main harbours on the coast were Bordeaux (Burdigala) and Boulogne (Gesoriacum). Before the conquest of Britain the portoria of the Atlantic coast were external duties, after the conquest they automatically became internal duties. De Laet suggests that Britain became an independent customs district. However, the evidence from Britain is very meagre. In London bricks have found with the stamp P P BRI LON, and with similar stamps. The abbreviation has been interpreted as p(ublicani) p(rovinciae) Bri(ttaniae) Lon(dinienses), "tax-collectors in London of the province of Brittania". The stamp P PR B was found on an amphora. De Laet links this to the portorium. Some lead seals with military inscriptions may also be related to the passing of goods through customs offices.

To the banks of the Rhine an inscription has been linked that was found in 1929 in Bonn, but originated from Cologne. It is a dedication by Marcus Pompeius Potens, conductor XXXX [= quadragesimae] Galliarum et Portus Lirensis (EDCS-11202286). A dedication to Mercurius from Bonn, possibly also coming from Cologne, has the phrase PPL RIPE RHENI, perhaps to be explained as p(ortus) L(irensis) rip(a)e Rheni, creating a link with the banks of the Rhine (EDCS-11202311). De Laet argues that Portus Lirensis contains a local toponym, and was a string of customs offices along the Rhine, including Cologne (Colonia Agrippina), Bonn (Bonna), Koblenz (Confluentes), Bingen (Bingium), Mainz (Mogontiacum), Altrip (Alta Ripa), and Ehl near Benfeld (Helellum).

The choice of the location of the stationes was not determined by the borders of provinces, but by geographical characteristics: rivers, mountain ranges etcetera. De Laet distinguishes four original zones: the western and central Alps, in Gaul and Italy; the Mediterrranean coast of Gaul; the Pyrenees between Gaul and Spain; the interior of the district. In the Alpine region the route along the coast and several passes (such as the Col de Montgenèvre, the Great and Little Saint Bernard Pass, the Splügen Pass, and the Septimer Pass) were of great importance. Here several stationes are documented through inscriptions, for example in Grenoble (Cularo), Genève (Genava) and Zürich (Turicum). Obviously our documentation is incomplete.

Click on the image to enlarge. From De Laet 1949. The stationes are indicated by red dots. The numbers designate cols:
1. Col de Larche; 2. Col d'Autaret; 3. Col d'Agnello; 4. Col du Mont Genèvre (Mons Matrona); 5. Col des Muandes; 6. Col de Lautaret;
7. Col du Mont Cenis; 8. Col du Petit St. Bernard (Alpis Graia); 9. Col du Grand St. Bernard (Summus Penninus); 10. Col du Simplon;
11. Col du St. Gothard; 12. Col du Lukmanier; 13. Col du Bernardino; 14. Col de Splügen (Cunu Aureu); 15. Col du Septimer;
16. Col de la Maloggia; 17. Col du Julier; 18. Col de l'Arlberg; 19. Col de la Reschen-Scheideck; 20. Col de Jaufen; 21. Col du Brenner.

On the Mediterranean coast of Gaul two offices are documented: in Arles, at the mouth of the river Rhône, and a bit to the east, in Massane on the Étang de Berre. Most likely there were also offices in Narbonne, Marseille and Fréjus. In the region of the Pyrenees two offices are documented, one on the east coast, in Elne (Illiberis), the other inland, in St. Bertrand-de-Comminges (Lugudunum Convenarum). It comes as quite a surprise that in Ostia a marble slab was found with the inscription STATIO ANTO[nini] AVG(usti) N(ostri) XXXX [= quadragesimae] G[alliar(um)] ET HISPANIAR[(um)] HIC (EDR072925). It belongs to an office that is "here", in Ostia, for the portorium of two districts, Gaul and Spain.

The offices in the zones discussed so far are on the borders of the district. Others are documented in the interior: in Lyon (Lugudunum), Langres (Andemantunnum), and on the river Saône. The first two offices are documented by inscriptions, for the river Saône transit duties are mentioned by Strabo (Geography IV,3,2). De Laet argues that Lyon was the seat of the central administration of the portoria in the district. This he deduces from the large number of inscriptions that has emerged in the city, and from the discovery of lead seals. The precise purpose of the seals is not clear. De Laet suggests that they were used as proof that the duties of 2.5% had been paid at a border of the district. Only a lower amount would then have to be paid, for example as toll.

The situation in this district was studied again in great detail by Jérôme France, especially in a monograph published in 2001. He reduced the certain epigraphical evidence to 39 inscriptions. He does not support the idea of a portorium on the Atlantic coast, and regards the Portus Lirensis as a local customs district.

The stationes documented by inscriptions. France 2001, fig. 18.