Cularo was the name of the Gallic city of Grenoble until 381, when it was renamed Gratianopolis in honor of Roman emperor Gratian. The first reference to Grenoble dates back to July 43 BC. At that time, the small town was called Cularo and had been founded by the Gallic people known as the Allobroges. In 292 the western emperor Maximian built walls around the town after elevating it to the rank of “city”. These Gallo-Roman walls protected the urban area and served as a status of Civitas. The vestiges of the Gallo-Roman wall are now a landmark of this era.