rick bonnie cadastres, misconceptions & northern gaul a case study from the belgian hesbaye region cadastres, misconceptions & northern gaul Sidestone Press rick bonnie cadastres, misconceptions & northern gaul a case study from the belgian hesbaye region Copyright 2009 by Rick Bonnie Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden www.sidestone.com Sidestone registration number: SSP41920001 ISBN 978-90-8890-024-2 Cover illustration: A talus from the Belgian Hesbaye region Cover design: Daniëlle Mirtenbaum Photography: Tim Vanderbeken (courtesy of the Zuid- Oost-Limburgse Archeologische Dienst) Layout: Rick Bonnie Daniëlle Mirtenbaum in loving memory of my mother Maria Bonnie-van Hautem (-) Contents List of Illustrations v Abbreviations ix Acknowledgements xi Maps xiii 1 Introduction 1 A static concept? 2 Evidence for surveyors 6 Structure of book 7 2 Setting and Physical Geography 9 Physical Geography 10 3 Historical and Archaeological Framework 13 Late Iron Age (250 - 57 BC) 13 Early Roman period (57 BC - 70 AD) 19 Middle Roman period (70 - 270 AD) 23 Late Roman period (270 - 450 AD) 29 4 Studying Roman Cadastres 33 Aerial photography and maps 34 Regional research 37 5 Talus and Site Orientation 41 Theory 41 Methodology 44 Orientation of talus and Roman structures 45 iii 6 Site Distribution and Land Sizes 59 Site distribution 59 Calculating hypothetical land sizes 74 7 Ownership of Land and Villas 77 Cadastres and the supposed settlement of new people 77 Relationship between villas and cadastres 82 Development of the villa landscape 84 8 Conclusions 87 A Roman cadastre in the Tongres-Maastricht area 88 Socio-cultural impact 95 Notes 99 Bibliography 103 Catalogue 119 iv List of Illustrations Maps 1. Distribution of Late Iron Age sites xiii 2. Distribution of Early Roman sites xiv 3. Distribution of Middle Roman sites xv 4. Distribution of Late Roman sites xvi 5. Distribution of undated Late Iron Age to Late Roman sites xvii Figures 1. Roman cadastre in Croatia of 20 by 20 actus 3 2. Boundary stone from a Roman cadastre 4 3. Boundary stone marking the end of Arelatensium 5 4. Overview map of Northwestern Europe 8 5. Soil map of the Tongres-Maastricht area 8 6. Small road in the Belgian Hesbaye region 11 7. Tribes inhabiting Northern Gaul prior to the Roman conquest 14 8. Hamlet and villa at Neerharen-Rekem 15 9. Ferme indigène around a farmstead 16 10. Celtic field-complex at Zeijen 17 11. Augustus’ civitates division in the Northern Gaul 20 12. Roman Tongres 20 13. Site of Smeermaas-Dukatonweg 22 14. Roman city wall of Tongres around 1900 ad 24 15. Roman villa of Valmeer-Meerberg 25 16. Roman burial mound in the Tongres-Maastricht area 27 17. Site of Veldwezelt 28 18. Late Roman settlement of Neerharen-Rekem 29 19. Roman burial practices in the Tongres-Maastricht area 31 20. Landscape evolution in Western Europe 34 v 21. Cadastre to the east of Tongres as proposed by Mertens 38 22. Formation of a talus 42 23. Steepness of slopes in the Tongres-Maastricht area 43 24. Sources, input and analysis 43 25. Talus along the valley of the Geer on different maps 46 26. Distribution of talus 47 27. Frequency of talus 48 28. Frequency of talus on the Depôt de la Guerre map 48 29. Ager collatinus at Collatia 50 30. Frequency of archaeological features from the Tongres- 51 Maastricht area 31. Archaeological sites from which orientations have been measured 51 32. Castles, castle ruins and strongholds in the Tongres-Maastricht 53 area 33. Castle of Alden Biesen 54 34. Expectation for distribution of distances of random points 59 35. Overlain 18 actus cadastre and the Middle Roman sites 63 36. Churches in and near the Tongres-Maastricht area 68 37. Lines of the field boundaries from the Atlas der Buurtwegen 72 38. Orientation of the Middle Roman sites in the 45˚-56,25˚ class 73 39. Thiessen-polygon around the Middle Roman settlements 75 40. Ring buffers around sites representing an 18 and 20 actus grid 75 41. 18 and 20 actus ring buffer around Valmeer-Meerberg and Valmeer-Boven het Kruis 76 42. Extents of Caesarian cadastre around Corinth 78 43. Veteran distribution in Roman Cologne and its hinterland 79 44. Theoretical division of a 20 by 20 actus cadastre 83 45. Roman villa of Haccourt 84 46. Modern talus in the Tongres-Maastricht area 89 47. Proposed Roman cadastre of 18 actus and 50,625˚ orientation 90 48. Negotiation between Romans and Julius Civilis 94 Tables 1. Conversion table Roman surveyors’ measurement units 2 2. Periodization 13 3. Factors theoretically affecting the orientation of Roman cadastres 36 4. Maps used in the GIS 46 5. Orientation classes 49 6. Orientation and construction date of castles, castle ruins and 54 strongholds in and near the Tongres-Maastricht area vi 7. Site and archaeological feature distribution per period of the 57 Tongres-Maastricht area 8. Numerator values for calculating significance levels of D 62 9. Site distribution test of Middle Roman features 63 10. Site distribution test of Early Roman features 64 11. Site distribution test of Late Roman features 64 12. Comparison of certainty of precision of a site and its effect on site 66 distribution 13. Comparison of continuing and new archaeological sites and its 66 effect on site distribution 14. Site distribution test of all Middle Roman features corresponding 67 to Mertens’ proposed cadastre 15. Spatial difference and effect of Middle Roman site on site 67 distribution 16. Construction date of churches in and near the Tongres- 68 Maastricht area 17. Site distribution test of churches 71 18. Sites with evidence of Roman weaponry 82 vii Abbreviations AAL Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia AAS Amsterdam Archaeological Studies AB Archaeologia Belgica AD Archaeological Dialogues ANRW Temporini, H. and W. Haase (1972 – present), eds., Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt. Berlin. BABesch Bulletin Antieke Beschaving BAR British Archaeological Reports (“IS” = International Supplements) BG Caesar, De Bello Gallico, in H.J. Edwards (1930) The Gallic War. Loeb Classical Library. London. BJ Bonner Jahrbücher CAI Centrale Archeologische Inventaris, Belgium Germ. Tacitus, Germania, in M. Hutton et al. (1970) Tacitus: Five volumes. Loeb Classical Library. London. JRA Journal of Roman Archaeology JRS Journal of Roman Studies Jul. Suetonius, Divus Julius, in D. Hurley and J.C. Rolfe (1997) Suetonius. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge. KJ Kölner Jahrbuch MEFRA Mélanges de l'École Française de Rome Antiquité OJA Oxford Journal of Archaeology OLL het Oude Land van Loon PGRM Provinciaal Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongres PPGRM Publikaties van het Provinciaal Gallo-Romeins Museum ROB Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek RR Columella, Res Rustica, in H.B. Ash et al. 1977. On Agriculture. Loeb Classical Library. London. ix SAR Scottish Archaeological Review WA World Archaeology ZOLAD Zuid-Oost-Limburgse Archeologische Dienst x Acknowledgements This book is a somewhat adapted version of my master’s thesis, which I wrote while studying Classical Archaeology at Leiden University. During the course of preparing and finishing this thesis I have had help of various people and institutions who have (often unconsciously) given me many new ideas and directions in developing this thesis. Not only archaeologists, but also friends and family. The person to whom I am indebted the most gratitude is Tim Vanderbeken, who works at ZOLAD, as he first introduced me to the topic of Roman cadastres and to his hypothesis of a possible cadastre in the region around Tongres. I would also like to thank him for his enthusiasm, his helpful comments, the numerous photographs he sent me, the several informal meetings at Riemst, Belgium, and for showing me around in the Hesbaye region. In addition, I would like to thank first of all my two supervisors at Leiden, John Bintliff and Jasper de Bruin, for their critical but helpful comments. Furthermore, I am indebted many thanks to the following persons for their help, comments, ideas and using their archives/libraries/inventories: Linda Bogaert, Guido Creemers, Wim Dijkman, Tessa de Groot, Karen Jeneson, Erwin Meyleman, John Peterson, Nico Roymans, Guido Schaepenbeek, Gilbert Soeters, Alain Vanderhoeven, Frank Vermeulen, Miguel John Versluys. Finally, I thank my girlfriend Daniëlle, for help, support and forbearance at all stages of the thesis and the publishing of this book. I want to dedicate this book to my mother, Maria Bonnie-van Hautem. After a battle of more than ten years against breast cancer, she sadly lost the fight on June 12th 2007. This is for you, mom! Rick Bonnie, May 2009 xi Map 1. Distribution of Late Iron Age sites in the Tongres-Maastricht area. Open symbols are tentative interpretations (numbers correspond to catalogue). xiii Map 2. Distribution of Early Roman sites in the Tongres-Maastricht area. Open symbols are tentative interpretations (numbers correspond to catalogue). xiv Map 3. Distribution of Middle Roman sites in the Tongres-Maastricht area. Open symbols are tentative interpretations (numbers correspond to catalogue). xv Map 4. Distribution of Late Roman sites in the Tongres-Maastricht area. Open symbols are tentative interpretations (numbers correspond to catalogue). xvi Map 5. Distribution of undated Late Iron Age to Late Roman sites in the Tongres-Maastricht area. Open symbols are tentative interpretations (numbers correspond to catalogue). xvii Introduction “Contemporary beliefs, visions and myths can and often do lead to metaphorical and physical (re)construction of the archaeological record, and constructed landscapes are particularly susceptible to such ‘freezing’ of meaning.” Knapp and Ashmore 1999: 10 In the 1950s, two Belgian scholars believed to have found evidence for what is called a centuriatio around the Roman provincial city of Tongres (Mertens 1958; Ulrix 1959).1 That both publications appeared around the same time seems not remarkable; the subject of Roman cadastration was quite a popular topic.