This letter was written shortly before the second of Sulpicius' basilicas was dedicated, thus in 403 or, even more probably, in 404.
Primuliacum was one of Sulpicius' estates that he did not sell when he was rejecting his wealth [2095]. Its exact location was lost. Recently, Frank Riess (Riess 2013: 66-69) has, once again, proposed the identification of Primuliacum with Elusio, present-day Monferrand, which Paulinus mentions in his first letter to Sulpicius ([2055]). The hypothesis that it also served as the later site of Sulpicius’ monastery is strengthened by the recent excavations of two 4th- or 5th-century basilicas, positioned side by side, just as in Primuliacum.
What constitutes a major distinction between Sulpicius and Paulinus in terms of their construction efforts is that Nola was the seat of a bishop and Primuliacum was not. It is interesting, then, that Sulpicius built two basilicas and a baptistery in his villa-turned-monastery. Judging by the collection of relics Sulpicius strived to gather in Primuliacum, it looks as if he wanted to establish a pilgrimage centre of sorts. Baptisteries were quite often constructed at such places, as it was considered advantageous to baptize oneself in close proximity to holy relics. Cf. with a baptistery, later significantly enlarged, in the monastery of Abû Mînâ at the tomb of Saint Menas near Alexandria in Egypt (Grossman 1988: 283–4).