The Lower German Limes in the Netherlands Scientific assessment of the site selection for the ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ World Heritage Site M. Polak & J. de Bruin THE LOWER GERMAN LIMES IN THE NETHERLANDS SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF THE SITE SELECTION FOR THE ‘FRONTIERS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE’ WORLD HERITAGE SITE M. Polak & J. de Bruin Nijmegen 2016 Colophon Commisioned by: Nederlandse Limes Samenwerking Title: The Lower German Limes in the Netherlands. Scientific assessment of the site selection for the ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ World Heritage Site Authors: M. Polak and J. de Bruin Editor: M. Polak Frontispiece: Excavation of timber revetments along the Roman Rhine at Bunnik-Vechten in 1893 (courtesy mun. Utrecht). © Auxilia, Nijmegen, 2016 Radboud University advocates Open Access to scientific publications. In line with that Auxilia complies to the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Know- ledge in the Sciences and Humanities: The authors and copyright holders grant to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship, as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use. Auxilia, archeologisch projectbureau van de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen Heyendaalseweg 121 6525 AJ Nijmegen Preface Assessing the contribution of Dutch sites to the Outstanding Universal Value of the Roman frontier in the former province of Lower Germany demands insight into the accumulated efforts of former and present fellow archaeologists. Much of the results of their work is available in written publications or in digital datasets archived in the e-depot Dutch Archaeology (EDNA) accommodated in the DANS-EASY environment. Regrettably, many excavations carried out prior to the anchoring of the 1992 Malta convention in national legislation have not been analysed and published, but often bits and pieces of the information collected at that time are available in the heads of colleagues. The results of very recent excavations have not been disclosed either, as their analysis is still in progress, but various fellow archaeologists have very willingly replied to our questions. Altogether, we are standing on the shoulders of many, and we are much obliged to all those who provided us with information, publications, maps, datasets and other services. Our thanks go to Peter van den Broeke (mun. Nijmegen), Bart Broex (RCE), Julia Chorus (Chorus Archeologie), Ton Derks (VU), Marieke van Dinter (ADC Archeoprojecten/UU), Lourens van der Feijst (ADC Archeoprojecten), Jean-François Gentenaar (mun. Nijmegen), Han Geurts (mun. Neder-Betuwe), Adam Haarhuis (RAAP), Femke Hoogenboom (ODRU), Bram Jansen (RAAP), Kirsten van der Kant-van Dijk (Buro De Brug), Laura Kooistra (Biax Consult), Menne Kosian (RCE), Huib-Jan van Oort (ODR), Benno Ridderhof (MBB), Peter Schut (Regio FoodValley), Peter Seinen (Mergor in Mosam), Luit van der Tuuk (Museum Dorestad), Philip Verhagen (VU), Jan Verhagen (VU), Wouter Vos (VosArcheo) and Herre Wynia (mun. Utrecht). Several regional and municipal archaeologists have readily shared their expert knowledge of their working area with us, and for this we are grateful to Harry van Enckevort and Paul Franzen (gemeente Nijmegen), Erik Graafstal (mun. Utrecht), Joris Habraken (mun. Arnhem, Duiven, Lingewaard, Overbetuwe, Rijnwaarden), Frits Kleinhuis (prov. Zuid-Holland) and Sigrid van Roode (mun. Berg en Dal). A special word of thanks goes to Kim Cohen (UU) for sharing his expertise in the palaegeography of the Rhine delta. At various occasions we have been able to discuss our preliminary ideas with those involved in the preparation of the nomination, both at a national and at an international level. They also provided us with the necessary background information on the history and the broader setting of the nomination. For this we are much obliged to Steve Bödecker (LVR), Astrid Gerrits (prov. Zuid-Holland), Tessa de Groot (RCE), Jürgen Kunow (LVR), Tamar Leene (Nederlandse Limes Samenwerking), Thomas Otten (LVR), Bianca Roelink (prov. Gelderland), Cees van Rooijen (RCE) and Lisa Wouters (prov. Utrecht). David Breeze (Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site) kindly shared his view on the essence of the Dutch frontier section with us. Finally, we gratefully recall the contribution of Carol Westrik (Westrik Consultancy), whose expert knowledge of the visions and procedures of ICOMOS and UNESCO has been very helpful. In the end, all the views expressed in this report are ours, and inevitably they are not faultless, and susceptible to discussion. Archaeological data are almost by definition incomplete, and usually there are various ways to fill the gaps. Even when all the evidence points in the same direction, a new excavation may put everything in a new perspective. Sic nisi aliter... Rien Polak & Jasper de Bruin, April 2016 About the authors Dr Marinus (Rien) Polak studied Roman Archaeology at Leiden University and is Assistant Professor in Roman Archaeology and director of Auxilia archeologisch projectbureau (archaeology services) at Radboud University Nijmegen. His PhD thesis (cum laude) on Roman pottery from the military settlement at Vechten was awarded the W.A. van Es prijs voor de Nederlandse Archeologie. In 1997-2000 he was responsible for the Roman period at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. He has been working on the Roman frontier for over thirty years and has published on several military sites and their material culture, including Nijmegen-Hunerberg (2011, 2014), Vechten (1997, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014), De Meern (1999), Alphen aan den Rijn (2004, 2006), Leiden-Roomburg (2004, 2009) and Valkenburg (2007, 2009), and on the Roman frontier in the Rhineland in general (2009, 2012, 2015). Jasper de Bruin M.A. studied Roman Archaeology at the University of Amsterdam and is Lecturer in Archaeological Practices and Roman Archaeology at Leiden University. For his PhD thesis, which he has recently handed in, he made an exhaustive study of the interaction between military, urban and rural communities in the civitas Cananefatium, the coastal area between Rhine and Meuse, including the military sites on the Rhine and along the North Sea coast. He has published studies on the Roman harbour of Goedereede-Oude Oostdijk (2012) and on the defences of the military fort at Leiden-Roomburg (2016). Contents Summary ................................................................................................................9 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11 1.1 The UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire’ ......... 11 1.2 Selection of Dutch sites: a brief history ................................................... 11 1.3 Assignment ...............................................................................................12 1.4 Method of working ...................................................................................13 1.5 Scope of this report ...................................................................................13 2 Sites recommended for nomination .................................................................15 2.1 Assessment framework .............................................................................15 2.2 Application to the site selection ................................................................16 2.3 List of recommended sites ........................................................................19 2.4 Comparative analysis ...............................................................................23 3 Impact of factors of physical disturbance ........................................................31 3.1 River erosion ............................................................................................31 3.2 Overbuilding .............................................................................................37 3.3 Excavation ................................................................................................39 3.4 Other factors .............................................................................................40 4 Boundaries ......................................................................................................43 4.1 UNESCO on boundaries ...............................................................................43 4.2 Boundaries in this report ..........................................................................43 5 Recommended additional research ..................................................................45 5.1 General considerations .............................................................................45 5.2 Additional research required for the nomination ......................................46 List of figures ......................................................................................................48 List of works cited ...............................................................................................49 Appendix 1 Gazetteer of recommended sites .....................................................53 Appendix 2 Matching of recommended sites and SOUV criteria ........................ 115 Appendix 3 Sites no longer recommended ....................................................... 119 The Lower German