The sources used for this assignment tended to have varying degrees of importance and usefulness. Many of the textbooks used seemed to have similar hindrances as well as strengths. Often we needed to examine two types of textbooks in order to draw the information required. We also had to piece together all of the information collected on our excursions to ruins and our trips to museums to assess what was valuable and what should be deemed irrelevant. Although some information was useful, the bulk of our important information on both Tolosa and the Roman Empire came from Monsieur Casagrande, an important contact and knowledgeable historical guide to the Roman World.
The books that we were able to access tended to be regional, a problem that soon became evident. This meant that we were forced to assess the Roman cities on a regional basis. It was possible to find books about Roma, about Tolosa, about other cities in southern Gaul, about regions in Hispania, and even about Jordan during Roman times. However, books about the actual Roman Empire’s generalized architecture forms and city layouts were scarce. In order to assess the typicality of Tolosa, we needed a basis for a Roman city layout. Yet this was difficult to pinpoint with any accuracy. Texts tended to focus on specific areas, regions, countries or themes. Books about the Roman Empire, such as the three-volume set entitled The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, however interesting, tended to be irrelevant to our needs for analysis of city layouts. In the end, our literary resources were focused on tourism books collected from the above-mentioned regions. Many of these were found at the museums we visited.
Texts addressing general Roman architecture were easier to find. However many centered on design and specific layouts, such as that of houses, villas, bathhouses, and forums. These designs were often reconstructions of previously found ruins. There was no general basis for what makes a Roman bathhouse, for example, or what defines a Roman villa. One of the main reasons for this is simply because, depending on the era, styles would change. There was also personalization which would make the buildings be unique within themselves. In light of this factor, we needed to assess the typicality of a general Roman city by layout and content. Since architecture books did not focus on this, we again fell into irrelevant sources, and therefore it was up to us to assess what was meant by “typical Roman city.” Most of our analysis was based upon Monsieur Casagrande’s accounts, and only then could we truly compare, with some degree of certainty, this template to what we knew of Tolosa.
Unfortunately very little remains of Tolosa. Toulouse has been built over-top for centuries past. Much of what is still standing is scattered throughout the city in such inaccessible places as people’s basements. The parts that do remain merge with present-day Toulouse in such a way that it is either impossible or unlikely to be able to imagine what it is that one is looking at. Therefore, much of what we saw of Tolosa, which was little to begin with, essentially did not aid us in any way other than proving that Tolosa once existed. Museums offered a starting point. However, much of the information found in them was centered on artifacts, objects, and pieces of small ruins such as statues. None of this helped us. There were a few mapped layouts of Tolosa and some diagrams of buildings.
The majority of what we do know about Tolosa was much the result of our conversations and interviews with Monsieur Casagrande. He remained a basic source for information and was invaluable in our acquisition of information about Tolosa. As well as showing us many ruins, such as the remains of Roman walls, he gave us insight into the aspects of a Roman city that tended to be common to the vast majority in the empire. It was he who explained the layout of the roads, the function of the forum, the history of Tolosa’s walls, and the history behind the founding of Tolosa. Although much of the information was his, from his memory and with his points of view, his credentials were impressive and his accounts seemed to be balanced and as objective as possible. There were no questions we posed for which he did not have an immediate and detailed answer. One of the interesting aspects of being a tour guide in France is the rigorous training and the difficult test that enables a guide to be extremely specialized and knowledgeable about his or her expert topics.
Most of Tolosa remains a mystery due to the impossibilities of excavation. A perfect example of this was when a large entranceway under present-day Place du Capitole was found. Although what was found was exciting, it was broken into pieces and bits were moved to museums while the rest of it, most of which was more difficult to access, was destroyed or covered over. This was because plans had already been made to create an underground parking lot. Tolosa still remains a mystery because most of its secrets remain buried under earth, medieval buildings and structures, and twentieth century industry and commerce. Much of what we learned was not relevant to our line of argument, but enthralled us all the same. The pieces found were reliable in so far as they proved what we wished them to prove. One of the important questions that we have come across during our research, and seen turned into a heated debate, is whether or not twenty-first century mankind is obliged to go out of his way in order to preserve, let alone discover, the past.