Carvium

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carvium
Alternative name Rijnwaarden Castle
limes Lower Germanic Limes
Dating (occupancy) around 40/50 to 275
Type Cohort fort
unit Cohors II civium Romanorum equitata pia fidelis
State of preservation washed away by the Rhine
place Zevenaar -Herwen
Geographical location 51 ° 52 '7 "  N , 6 ° 5' 15"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 52 '7 "  N , 6 ° 5' 15"  E hf
Previous Harenatium (southeast)
Subsequently Fort Duiven-Loowaard (northwest)

Carvium was a Roman border fort on the Lower Germanic Limes .

location

The garrison area, which had meanwhile been lost due to the flooding and submerging of the Rhine, was located on the bank of the river, just under three kilometers southeast of the point where the Waal separates from the Rhine. Here the Limes Road crossed the river, which may have been the reason for building a fort at this point. In today's settlement geographic picture, the camp was in the area of ​​the Dutch municipality of Zevenaar , in the province of Gelderland .

History and findings

Location of Carvium on the Lower Germanic Limes

Carvium was a cohort fort , which was founded either under Caligula from the year 40 or in the early Claudian period, possibly during the governorship of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo from the year 47. The fort was occupied by the Cohors II civium Romanorum equitata pia fidelis ("2nd partially mounted cohort of Roman citizens with the surname the Pious, the Faithful"). The fort existed under the same occupation until it was destroyed as a result of an invasion of the Franks in 275. However, it was possibly rebuilt again in late antique times, in the fourth century. The findings were probably completely washed away by the meandering river. The camp between the villages of Herwen (where the ancient name Carvium survived) and Aerdt was only able to locate and date the relatively high and unambiguous number of finds (military equipment, building fragments) that have come to light since 1938, mainly during dredging work in the “De Bijland” polder become. The composition of the finds also indicates the possible existence of a civilian settlement ( vicus ), which, however, could not be proven archaeologically either.

Not far from the fort there must have been a dam ( moles ), as indicated by the inscription on the tombstone of a legionnaire buried there:

M (arcus) Mallius
M (arci) f (ilius) Galer (ia) Genoa
mile (s) leg (ionis) I | (centuria) Rusonis
anno (rum) XXXV stip (endiorum) XVI
Carvio ad molem
sepultus est ex test (amento)
heredes duo f (aciendum) c (uraverunt)

Translation: “Marcus Mallius, son of Marcus, from the Tribus Galeria, from Genoa, soldier of the 1st Legion , from the Century of Ruso, 35 years old, 16 years of service, is buried in Carvium on the dam. According to his will, his two heirs erected this tombstone. ”The tombstone is now in the Het Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen.

This dam is also mentioned by Tacitus . It was probably built under Drusus in connection with the construction of the Fossa Drusiana and was of a certain strategic importance, since the Waal crossing of the Limes Road created a direct connection to Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum ( Nijmegen ).

There are currently plans to reconstruct the fort under the name Carvium Novum .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herbert Nesselhauf, Hans Lieb: Third supplement to CIL XIII: Inscriptions from the Germanic provinces and the Treverer area . In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission 40, 1959, pp. 120–228, No. 258.
  2. ^ Official website of the Museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen.
  3. ↑ Tacitus, Annales XIII , 53; Tacitus, Historiae V, 19th century.
  4. ^ N. Huisman: Lobith, Park Carvium Novum (Gemeente Rijnwaarden, Eltenseweg). An inventory veldonderzoek in de vorm van proefsleuven . ADC ArcheoProjecten, Amersfort 2009, ISBN 978-90-6836-774-4 .