This thesis is based on the hypothesis that women were present in Roman forts during the time that the Dutch limes was functioning as a border of the Roman Empire. Many castella were built along...Show moreThis thesis is based on the hypothesis that women were present in Roman forts during the time that the Dutch limes was functioning as a border of the Roman Empire. Many castella were built along the limes to help regulate and keep watch over the transport via the Rhine. One of these castella was Albaniana, located at present time Alphen aan den Rijn. This castellum has been well documented through excavations and archaeological material. However, the view of Roman forts and its inhabitants has been aged and is no longer correct. In the past, Roman forts have been thought of as exclusively male, with soldiers and officers of the Roman army occupying them. Nevertheless, in several cases it has been proven through the archaeological record that women were in fact present within these military communities, and not just as visitors. The extent of their presence can be seen within multiple finds categories. To determine whether or not it is possible to state that women were in fact present at castellum Albaniana, the metal finds found by metal detector in the soil that was dug up from the Rhine riverbed were analysed and compared with earlier research completed in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (Allison 2006; Furger 1990). First the metal finds from the landfill were analysed by category, separating personal objects from domestic objects. Features such as extensive decoration or female marks were observed closely, to see whether an object could be associated to female dress or adornment. When possible, finds were sorted into tables to compare sizes. Smaller sizes of rings and brooches for example might point to female possession as well. Next, the amount of material associated with female possession in total was analysed and through this information the research questions were answered, showing that women and perhaps even children were present in the fort of Alphen aan den Rijn.Show less
In the municipality of Oegstgeest (NL), an early medieval settlement was excavated spanning an area of circa eight hectares. The excavation revealed both the core habitation areas and the periphery...Show moreIn the municipality of Oegstgeest (NL), an early medieval settlement was excavated spanning an area of circa eight hectares. The excavation revealed both the core habitation areas and the periphery of the settlement. Among the thousands of features and finds related to the daily activities of the inhabitants, 27 contexts were excavated that contained human remains, of which nine contained (partially) complete individuals, and 18 secondary deposited remains. The human remains and their associated contexts are the focus of this research. The human remains were subjected to various analyzes, which provided different views on the lives and deaths of the inhabitants of early medieval Oegstgeest. Based on the analysis of the geographical location of the remains, it was argued that the choice for burial location was influenced by the presence of landmarks with a liminal character, such as boundary ditches. The analysis of the burial features, and the position of the corpse therein, revealed a variety of body positions and sepulchers. The osteological analysis of the bones indicated that a minimum of thirteen individuals was represented in the assemblage. The primary inhumations consisted of both male and female individuals with a varying age-at-death. The demographic composition of the deviant burials and secondary deposits was highly homogenous, consisting almost exclusively of adult male individuals. Few pathological conditions were identified, but a relatively large number of bones (from secondary deposits) exhibited perimortem sharp force trauma and scavenging marks. From five individuals strontium and/or stable oxygen isotopes were analyzed to determine the area in which they were born. The results indicated that four individuals were not born in the coastal region of the Netherlands. It was possible to state that the five individuals were born in four different areas. Based on the isotope results, it was argued that early medieval migration flows were more diverse than previously thought. The final part of the thesis discussed cultural explanations for the phenomena that were observed in the assemblage of human remains. For the secondary deposits it was proposed that they were the product of an excarnation ritual. Possibly the wolf, raven and eagle - important animals in early medieval mythology- fulfilled a role in the excarnation process. Alternatively, the secondary deposits and deviant primary deposits might be the product of ritual offerings to specific Celtic deities. Sun or wheel symbols found in the settlement (such as in a deposit of human bones and on a silver bowl), were possibly also linked to a Celtic religious cult. The cremated remains of one individual, found in the fill of disused well, were interpreted as a foundation- or closure deposit. For the primary inhumations, which were exclusively found near the boundaries of habitation areas, it was proposed that they possibly served as territorial markers. Depositing deceased relatives at the periphery of the household estate might have strengthened the ancestral affiliation, and thereby the claim on the territory.Show less
In deze scriptie wordt onderzoek gedaan naar een structuur die gevonden is in 2011 bij opgravingswerkzaamheden nabij Oegstgeest. De structuur staat op de oever van de Oude Rijn en dateert uit de...Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt onderzoek gedaan naar een structuur die gevonden is in 2011 bij opgravingswerkzaamheden nabij Oegstgeest. De structuur staat op de oever van de Oude Rijn en dateert uit de Merovingische periode. De structuur dateert rond 550 en is relatief vroeg voor deze nederzetting. Het gaat zeer waarschijnlijk om een gebouw dat is gebruikt om goederen op te slaan. Mogelijk ook goederen die bestemt waren voor de handel. Dit is gebaseerd op de diepte van de paalsporen, die zeer diep zijn. Dit is in Oegstgeest vaak een aanwijzing voor spiekers en schuren. Het gedeelte van de nederzetting waar de structuur staat lijkt in zijn geheel vroeg te zijn. Aardewerk uit de 7e eeuw lijkt afwezig te zijn. Een verklaring hiervoor kan zijn dat dit deel van de nederzetting te nat werd in de 7e eeuw om nog langer te gebruiken. De sporen rond de structuur, met name de steigers, duiden ook op handel in dit gedeelte van de nederzetting. Ook is er gekeken naar de methode die Frans Theuws aanraad om te gebruiken voor de publicatie van plattegronden. Hoewel deze methode relatief nieuw is zou dit een goede methode zijn voor het publiceren van plattegronden.Show less
The Dutch Limes is well-known and runs from Katwijk in the west, to Nijmegen in the south-east, where it runs across the Dutch border. Located along this Limes were castella, small Roman forts. It...Show moreThe Dutch Limes is well-known and runs from Katwijk in the west, to Nijmegen in the south-east, where it runs across the Dutch border. Located along this Limes were castella, small Roman forts. It has always been assumed that the Dutch castella were undecorated structures with no monumental appearance, but now new evidence might change this traditional view. During excavations in 1998 a large number of tuff stone blocks were found at the Roman castellum Albaniana at Alphen aan den Rijn, that were decorated with trims, and it included one stone that seemed to have been a half column, plus one stone with an alcove, indicating that these stones must have been part of a building with a monumental appearance. The question is now: which building did they belong to, and how where they incorporated in it? There were several options: the blocks could have been part of a gate, the porta principalis dextra, or of the bathhouse, or it could have been part of a monumental entrance to the principia, the Roman headquarters. When we look at the location where the stones were found, they were found closest to the entrance gate, the porta principalis dextra, which indicates that they did actually belong to this gate. However, two of the main blocks, the stone with the alcove and the half column were found in a different location. It is unclear however from the excavation reports, exactly where these were found. Thus it is possible that these two blocks belonged to a different building, for example the bathhouse. However it is presumed that these blocks did actually belong to the porta principalis dextra and using these blocks a simple reconstruction has been made to show that Dutch castella did actually have buildings with a monumental appearance.Show less
The Iron Age-Roman Period transition is a much discussed subject. Key to this discussion is the process of Romanization. This term has had different definitions through time and several...Show moreThe Iron Age-Roman Period transition is a much discussed subject. Key to this discussion is the process of Romanization. This term has had different definitions through time and several alternatives exist. I have chosen to define Romanization as the processes involved in transitioning to the Roman Period. Central to these processes should be the possibility to use and manipulate Roman culture in ambiguous ways, creating new identities but also maintaining aspects of pre-Roman beliefs and practices. Using this as a theoretical framework several sites and aspects of the archaeological record of the micro-region Oss were discussed, comparing the data of the second half of the Late Iron Age with the data of the Early Roman Period. The main focus was put on indications of change and continuity. This descriptive and interpretative research resulted in an overview of the constants and changes around the beginning of the Roman Period. It became apparent that developments in settlements, housing, material culture and religious practices showed a lot of continuity. Change was detected, but most of the changes can be related to the ongoing long-term developments related to habitation become more nucleated and location bound. As such these so-called changes are more indicative of continuity. In my opinion, they may serve as indication of a growing need to structure space. This need shows no apparent link to the arrival of Roman troops in the southern parts of the Netherlands, nor does it seem to be related to the arrival of a Chatti sub-tribe from the Middle Rhine-region into the area. This does not mean that the Roman presence in the region had no effect on the local communities at all. These effects will have been mainly felt in the political and economical spheres of society. This can also be seen in the material culture of the four sites, with the ceasing circulation of La Tène glass and the rise of wheel-thrown pottery like terra sigillata. These results subscribe to the notion that Rome was not undertaking a civilizing mission, but rather seduced other groups of people with their culture instead of obliging them to accept it. So we can characterize this first phase of Romanization in the micro-region Oss as mainly influencing politics and economy, whilst the basics of everyday life remained relatively unaffected. This view has to be further supplemented for the period under discussion, but also for the succeeding Middle and Late Roman Period.Show less
This thesis is about an early medieval well, made of sods, from a Roman and medieval site in Naaldwijk, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands. All the wood from this well, including part of a wooden wheel,...Show moreThis thesis is about an early medieval well, made of sods, from a Roman and medieval site in Naaldwijk, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands. All the wood from this well, including part of a wooden wheel, was examined together with soil samples, one from the bottom filling of the well and one from the sods, for the presence of seeds. The main research question was: “How did the local vegetation look like at the time of the well, based on the examined wood and seeds?” A second complementary question was: “What was the character of the use of wood?” In the well wood of alder, oak, ash, willow, buckthorn and elder was found, possibly all of these have grown in the area near the settlement. Most of the found wood was of poor quality and together with the findings of branches of most of the taxa suggest the use of local wood and therefore the availability was the main factor in the choice of wood. Research of the seeds from the soil sample that was taken from the sods showed that the sods probably came from a clayey environment that given the amount of foraminifera in the sample, has possibly been under the influence of the sea. The discovered taxa in this sample seem to indicate a moist to wet, moderately brackish to brackish environment. The soil sample from the bottom filling of the well showed many arable weeds that seem to indicate the presence of lime-free, nitrogen-rich and moderate to rich farmland or vegetable gardens. There are indications for frequently entered environments with a rich soil, such as yards and roadsides. Also ample evidence was found of rarely entered brushwood with a reworked rich, humous, lime-free, dry soil, such as waste land and pastures. Some of these taxa are indicators for nitrogen and also occur in fields and can point to manuring of the soil. There are also many indications for the presence of grasslands and/ or pastures with a highly variable humidity and a moderately brackish to brackish soil, such as dune grasslands. However, determining the presence or absence of forests and the degree of openness of the landscape can only be done with additional pollen analysis.Show less
Het bronnenmateriaal dat voor onderzoek naar kleding gebruikt kan worden is beperkt, zeker voor inheemse nederzettingen in West-Nederland. Over de in deze periode in de noordelijke provincies...Show moreHet bronnenmateriaal dat voor onderzoek naar kleding gebruikt kan worden is beperkt, zeker voor inheemse nederzettingen in West-Nederland. Over de in deze periode in de noordelijke provincies gedragen kleding bestaan wel diverse algemene theorieën, gebaseerd op schriftelijke, iconografische en archeologische bronnen. Hieruit komen diverse kledingstijlen naar voren, waaronder een vaak gedragen basisstijl. Deze lijkt geen gebruik te maken van fibulae. In Leidschendam-Leeuwenbergh bestaat het aan kleding verbonden bronnenmateriaal echter hoofdzakelijk uit (fragmenten van) fibulae. Dit past dus niet bij de door de algemene theorieën voorgestelde basisstijl. Op basis van het vondstmateriaal moet deze waarschijnlijk dus aangevuld worden met kledingstukken waarvoor wel fibulae gebruikt werden. Deze zijn mogelijk meer ‘inheems’ en daardoor weinig afgebeeld en onzichtbaar. Het lijkt er echter wel op dat fibulae zowel binnen ‘Romeinse’ als ‘Inheemse’ stijlen voorkwamen en dus niet als specifiek voor de een of de ander gelden. De algemene theorieën blijken ontoereikend te zijn. Toch zijn deze de enige indicatie van kleding die zonder fibulae gedragen werd en die dus geen sporen heeft achtergelaten. Zowel het bronnenmateriaal als de theorieën worden dus gekenmerkt door grote beperkingen. Een reconstructie van de in de nederzetting gedragen kleding zal zich op beide moeten baseren en ook dan zal veel onzichtbaar of onduidelijk blijven. Wel kan het materiaal diverse interessante aanknopingpunten opleveren voor breder vervolgonderzoek. De fibulae kunnen ook zelfstandig uitgewerkt worden, hoewel ze eigenlijk niet los gezien moeten worden van de kleding waartoe ze behoren. Door gebruik te maken van typologie kunnen dateringen worden gegeven. Ook kunnen de fibulae (deels) verbonden worden aan de identiteit van hun drager, maar deze toewijzingen blijven twijfelachtig. De fibulae worden zowel binnen de nederzetting, in graven als in een mogelijke rituele context aangetroffen, duidend op een betekenis als meer dan alleen een gebruiksvoorwerp. Deze is echter moeilijk aan te tonen. Hetzelfde geldt voor diverse andere sociale aspecten, zoals status. Ook de mate waarin fibulae voorkwamen blijft onduidelijk. Toch zegt alleen al de aanwezigheid van de fibulae op dit type site iets over het gebruik ervan. Met de verkregen gegevens kan het algemene beeld over kleding- en fibulaegebruik verder aangevuld worden.Show less
