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This paper presents a geoarcheological study on potential canal subsections present in the Roman-age Vecht branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta (the Netherlands).The first Roman canals in this delta were dug around 12 BC by Drusus, but their location has been the subject of debate since the 16th century, with various hypotheses proposed. Based on actual palaeogeographical knowledge of the Rhine-Meuse delta, the Utrechtse Vecht hypothesis is considered the most plausible. Within the study area, in the northern part of the Vecht system, natural sections of this river may alternate with possible artificial reaches, created at the time of Drusus. Such artificial canals, being part of an otherwise natural channel belt system, can widen and deepen overtime, eroding all or most of the recognizable features associated with their original construction. As study area was chosen a relatively straight section of the Vecht between two former lakes. Two approaches were used. The first approach centred upon mapping channel morphology and recording sediment stratigraphy of the river deposits through detailed auger coring. Results corroborated the hypothesis of an originally straight feature (landform), confirming that it might have started life as a dug course, but not providing preserved archaeological remains of this stage. The second approach was chronological, whereby a programme of 14C dating was undertaken to refine the understanding of the origin and development of this reach of the Vecht, allowing earlier chronological investigations to be further contextualised and reassessed. A significant challenge to understand age control and floodplain evolution is the degradation of the top of the clayey peat that was observed below the levee deposits; this degradation is due to the lowering of groundwater levels and causes the end of peat growth to be dated as older than it actually is. Using new radiocarbon dates we have reconstructed that the Overmeer-Nigtevecht reach of the Vecht between two former lakes started life as a straight channel. We have constrained its age to be closer to the time of Drusus’ activities (early Roman age). Although we have not found in situ remains of Drusus canal(s), these two new insights make the Vecht option, effectuated by a series of short canals, more likely to be the Drusus canal(s).
This paper presents a geoarcheological study on potential canal subsections present in the Roman-age Vecht branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta (the Netherlands).The first Roman canals in this delta were dug around 12 BC by Drusus, but their location has been the subject of debate since the 16th century, with various hypotheses proposed. Based on actual palaeogeographical knowledge of the Rhine-Meuse delta, the Utrechtse Vecht hypothesis is considered the most plausible. Within the study area, in the northern part of the Vecht system, natural sections of this river may alternate with possible artificial reaches, created at the time of Drusus. Such artificial canals, being part of an otherwise natural channel belt system, can widen and deepen overtime, eroding all or most of the recognizable features associated with their original construction. As study area was chosen a relatively straight section of the Vecht between two former lakes. Two approaches were used. The first approach centred upon mapping channel morphology and recording sediment stratigraphy of the river deposits through detailed auger coring. Results corroborated the hypothesis of an originally straight feature (landform), confirming that it might have started life as a dug course, but not providing preserved archaeological remains of this stage. The second approach was chronological, whereby a programme of 14C dating was undertaken to refine the understanding of the origin and development of this reach of the Vecht, allowing earlier chronological investigations to be further contextualised and reassessed. A significant challenge to understand age control and floodplain evolution is the degradation of the top of the clayey peat that was observed below the levee deposits; this degradation is due to the lowering of groundwater levels and causes the end of peat growth to be dated as older than it actually is. Using new radiocarbon dates we have reconstructed that the Overmeer-Nigtevecht reach of the Vecht between two former lakes started life as a straight channel. We have constrained its age to be closer to the time of Drusus’ activities (early Roman age). Although we have not found in situ remains of Drusus canal(s), these two new insights make the Vecht option, effectuated by a series of short canals, more likely to be the Drusus canal(s).
A longstanding debate among ancient historians and students of Roman frontiers concerns the reality and effective reach of Roman imperial policy. Certainly when new military commitments were involved, the slowness of supply and information meant that major moves had to be planned well in advance. This paper focuses on the provincialisation of Britain and Thrace in a.d. 43 and c. 45. The dating evidence provided by tree rings, coins and milestones suggests that logistic preparation for the invasion of Britain started at least two years before the event. This pattern, of a newly installed Emperor immediately initiating a campaign on the northern frontiers, allowing two years for logistic preparation, is seen no fewer than seven times between Caligula and Caracalla.
The focus of this study is on transport in the Dutch part of the Lower Rhine limes, and particularly transport between the local and the military population with the intention of provisioning the Roman army. In comparison with the main transport infrastructure and interprovincial and imperial trade networks, little research has been done regarding local routes and transport movements, which can be attributed at least partly to the archaeologically untraceable nature of most of these connections. This chapter presents a study on the functioning of a Roman local transport network through computational approaches. In this study, a network of potential local transport connections is modelled using least-cost path approaches and a Gabriel graph structure. Using this network to compare two hypotheses, it was found that in some regions it is more efficient to move surplus goods from the local population to the military population through central gathering points prior to the transport in bulk towards a fort. In another region, a complementary system probably existed, where the forts functioned as gathering points for their direct vicinity while at the same time transport from more distant areas could be more efficiently organized through intermediary sites. In this study, the case of the potential intermediary site of Tiel-Medel was highlighted, as recent archaeological excavations have yielded evidence that strongly suggests its role as an important node in local transport networks. This shows that the methods employed here can be complementary to archaeological field research.
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