Roman Religion in Germania Inferior: A case study of the temple of Empel Eline Trudy Maria Elisabeth Jonkergouw (s2034638) Master thesis archaeology Supervisor: Dr.ir. M.J. Driessen Specialisation: Roman province, Middle Ages and Modern times Leiden University, faculty of Archaeology Retake 28-11-2019 ‘s-Hertogenbosch Source frontpage: made by author near the manquette of Bruns Manquettebouw B.V. at the NoordBrabants museum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Acknowledgement For this thesis I had a lot of help from different people. First, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor dr.ir. Mark Driessen. He helped me to focus on this subject with useful tips and tricks. Beside supervision from Leiden University, I would like to thank Erfgoed ‘s-Hertogenbosch and especially from this organization Ronald van Genabeek, Eddy Nijhof, and Bart van Gils that I was welcome there for research. Ronald van Genabeek gives me more information about the site itself and how the excavation was done, and Bart van Gils provides the opportunity to see and studied the material from Empel. Moreover, I would thank Aimée Dabekaussen. She was the person that helped me with all mine question about English grammar and structure. Another person that must be mentioned is Thymon Maarsen. He helped with converting the whole dataset from Excel to Word and the layout of the tables. At last, I would thank my parents for all the lovely support in the whole writing part of my thesis. Table of Content 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 The discovery and excavation of the Roman temple site in Empel, the Netherlands............ 10 1.2 The practise of Roman religion throughout the Roman Empire ........................................... 12 1.3 Research problem .................................................................................................................. 13 1.4 Research goal ........................................................................................................................ 13 1.5 Research question .................................................................................................................. 14 2 Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................. 16 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 18 3.1 Methodology for the first and second sub-questions ............................................................. 18 3.2 Notes and limitations on the dataset ...................................................................................... 22 3.3 Methodology for the third sub-question ................................................................................ 22 4 Background information about the temple of Empel .................................................................... 23 5 Spatial distribution of Roman religions in Germania Inferior ....................................................... 24 5.1 Results of the dataset ............................................................................................................. 24 5.2 Limitations of the dataset used .............................................................................................. 31 5.3 Conclusions drawn from the dataset on a national scale ....................................................... 31 6 Roman religion in the civitas Batavorum ...................................................................................... 33 6.1 The civitas Batavorum ........................................................................................................... 33 6.2 Results of the dataset for the civitas Batavorum ................................................................... 34 6.3 Temple complexes in the civitas Batavorum ......................................................................... 39 6.4 The conclusion from the civitas Batavorum .......................................................................... 41 7 Case study: The temple of Empel .................................................................................................. 42 7.1 Architecture of the temple ..................................................................................................... 42 7.2 Votive inscriptions ................................................................................................................ 45 7.3 Statuettes and figures ............................................................................................................. 46 7.4 Weapons, military armour, horse gear and chariots .............................................................. 52 7.5 Animal sacrifices ................................................................................................................... 56 7.6 Jewellery ................................................................................................................................ 60 7.7 Cooking gear and drinking tableware .................................................................................... 62 7.8 Chapter conclusion ................................................................................................................ 63 8 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 66 9 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 69 10 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 71 11 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 85 List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1: Modern topographic map of the location ( Scale 1:50.000). The black area near the black arrow shows the temple location (Renswoude 2010, 2). ......................................................................... 9 Figure 2: Drawing of the site in Empel. The structure of a temple complex is clearly visible (Hiddink 2018). ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3: Votive inscription (5 cm) that was found in Empel. The text on this plate is: Hercvli/magvsen(o)/ivlivs gen/ialis veter(anus)/leg(ionis) X g(eminae) p(iae) f(idelis)/v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) t(aetus) m(erito) (For Hercules Magusanus Iulius Genialis, veteran of Legio X, has honoured the vow of his free will and according to custom) (Roymans and Derks 1994, 22). ............................ 11 Figure 4: Statuette of Hercules bibax (8.1 cm) found in Empel (Erfgoed ‘s-Hertogenbosch) .............. 11 Figure 5: The votive stone for Hercules Magusanus from Sint-Michielsgestel. The text: Dedicated to Magusanus Hercules. Flavus, son of Vihirmas, highest magistrate of the Batavian administrative district, has fulfilled his vow (Roymans and Derks 1994, 26). ............................................................. 11 Figure 6: A map of the distribution of deities in Germania Inferior. Each coloured location is a pie chart showing the properties of different deities. .................................................................................. 27 Figure 7: Map of Roymans and Derks with the borders of where the Batavians lived. The big square is a temple complex for Hercules, the small dots are votive stones and the triangles represented bracelets for Hercules (Roymans and Derks 1994, 31). ....................................................................................... 33 Figure 8: Map with the marking of the civitas Batavorum and, inside the marking, the distribution of deities visible for this region. ................................................................................................................ 34 Figure 9: Stone building fragment from Kapital (picture made by author). .......................................... 43 Figure 10: Stone building fragment from Kapital (picture made by author). ........................................ 43 Figure 11: Glass fragments (picture made by author). .......................................................................... 43 Figure 12: Large glass fragment (picture made by author). .................................................................. 43 Figure 13: Reconstruction of the temple of Empel (Knapen 2018, commissioned by author). ............ 43 Figure 14: A temple reconstruction from Velzeke, which is a typical Gallo-Roman temple with a square size cella (Houten 2011, 53). ..................................................................................................... 45 Figure 15: A sketch of the style of a temple according to Vitruvius. This is a typical rectangular cella drawing (Morgan 2005, 81). .................................................................................................................. 45 Figure 16: Statuette of Hercules bibax found in Velsen (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) ...................... 47 Figure 17: Photo and drawing of toe, inventory number 4947 (picture made by author, drawing Roymans and Derks 1994, 87). ............................................................................................................