Fectio

Fectio
Alternative name	Fectium Fort Vechten Fort Bunnik-Vechten
limes	Lower Germanic Limes
Dating (occupancy)	A) Augustan up to 69/70 B) 70 up to after 150 C) after 150 up to 270/275
Type	A) Supply camp, naval fort B) Cohort fort C) Alen fort
unit	A) unknown units B.a) Cohors II Brittonum (or Britannorum) milliaria equitata B.b) Cohors I Flavia Hispanorum equitata B.c) unknown cohort (?) Bd) unknown cohort C) Ala I Thracum
size	A) approx. 4.5 ha B) approx. 2.6-2.7 ha C) approx. 2.6-2.7 ha
Construction	A) Wood-earth warehouse B) Wood-earth warehouse C) Stone fort
State of preservation	Ground monument
place	Bunnik - Vechten
Geographical location	52 ° 3 '27 "  N , 5 ° 9' 42"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 3 '27 "  N , 5 ° 9' 42"  E
Previous	Levefanum (southeast)
Subsequently	Traiectum (northwest)

Fectio in the course of the Lower Germanic Limes

Fort Vechten

Gravestone of the Thracian Valens, son of Bititralis, 2nd century,
FO: Fectio,
AO: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden

Gravestone of the released slave Fledimella,
FO: Fectio,
AO: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden

TS -shard with sgraffito of a Liburnian . Around 25 to 50 AD, FO: Fectio, AO: Central Museum Utrecht

Reconstructed watchtower

Fectio (also: Fectium ), the Vechten or Bunnik-Vechten fort , was a garrison site from the early days of the Roman occupation of Germania. Later it became part of the Lower Germanic Limes . Today's ground monument is in the area of ​​Vechten, a residential area of ​​the municipality of Bunnik in the Dutch province of Utrecht.

location

The former Roman military site is located under a fruit plantation, immediately west of Fort bij Vechten , a Dutch bastion from the 19th century, whose grounds and buildings are now used as an amusement park and a cultural center. In Roman times, the fortification was on the bank of an arm of the Lek (which today runs around seven kilometers further south), roughly at the point where the Vecht branched off from the river to the north. Strategically, the place was well chosen insofar as it was from there that both the Frisian and the Cananefati area could be controlled.

Research history

The garrison place was first mentioned in documents around the year 700 in the cosmography of the geographer of Ravenna with the name Fictione and located between Matellionem ( Matilo ) and Evitano ( Levefanum ). The site has been known as the site of Roman remains since the 17th century. During the construction of the fort between 1867 and 1870, numerous finds were recovered, including an inscription in 1869 with the name Fectione . Nevertheless, only ten percent of the suspected area has been archaeologically researched to date. Only small-scale excavations were carried out between 1829 and 1947. More extensive investigations could only be carried out in connection with the widening of the Reichsautobahn A 12 in the years 1988/1989 to 1996. In 2010 the discovery of over one hundred tablets from the Fectio military archive became known. These had already been found in 1978 by two " amateur archaeologists " and had been kept under water and in a freezer for decades. In terms of their significance, the Dutch media have compared the tablets with the Vindolanda tablets .

Fort history and archaeological findings

Supply camp 4/5 to 69/70 AD

The fort was laid out as a wood and earth warehouse in Augustan times, possibly in the years 4/5 AD, when Tiberius was Commander-in-Chief in Germania for the second time . In the first decades it underwent at least six construction phases and, as evidenced by the inscriptions and other finds, probably served as a supply store, possibly also as an operative infantry and naval base. In the year 40 Emperor Caligula visited the castle on his way to Lugdunum Batavorum , as the inscription on an imperial wine barrel attests to. Under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo , the garrison site lost its offensive character from the year 47 and was now oriented defensively. In its early phase (4/5 to 69/70 AD) the camp was designed as an irregular quadrangle about 4.5 hectares in size, open to the banks of the Rhine, but 5.40 m wide on its three land sides Pointed moat and a wood-earth wall was surrounded. The archaeological findings of this period include three Horrea as well as other wooden structures, bank fortifications, quays and remains of ships. Extensive traces of settlement outside the fort area (including numerous wells) indicate the existence of large canabae . During the Batavian uprising in 69/70 AD, the fort was destroyed by a thick layer of fire, as evidenced by a thick layer of fire.

Auxiliary camp (wood-earth) 70 to around 150 AD

Since the Vespasian times, Fectio became part of the Lower Germanic Limes as a location for initially partially mounted auxiliary troops. After the area had been filled up by about two meters, a 2.6 or 2.7 hectare wood-earth fort was built in the form of an irregular square. With a wide praetorial front (front) it faced the Rhine and was surrounded on all sides by a wall and a moat. Only a few traces of the interior development could be found. Well-known stationing troops were the Cohors II Brittonum (or Britannorum ) milliaria equitata (from 70 to 78/80 AD) and the Cohors I Flavia Hispanorum equitata (from 78/80 to about 100 AD). The latter was possibly stationed at the same time as an unknown Cohors in Vechten. The names of the troops from around 100 AD and the middle of the 2nd century AD are not known.

Auxiliary fort (Stein) around 150 to 270/275 AD

Around the middle of the 2nd century AD the wood and earth fort was replaced by a stone fortification and occupied by the Ala I Thracum , who had previously been stationed in Britain. The stone fort followed the layout of the previous building and, with its dimensions of approximately 150 m × 180 m, took up an area of ​​approximately 2.7 hectares. It was surrounded by a 9.40 m wide trench and a stone wall. The stone principia and the praetorium, also made of stone, as well as the remains of some wooden structures could be identified from the interior . At the end of the 2nd / beginning of the 3rd century, the silting of the arm of the Rhine on which Fectio lay, which began in the last quarter of the 1st century AD, was so advanced that access from the river was no longer possible. In the more than two and a half centuries of its existence, the camp was devastated and rebuilt several times until the fort site was finally not rebuilt and finally abandoned - as evidenced by the archeologically proven traces of fire after a last destruction in the years 270/275 AD .

Auxiliary vicus

The vicus of the auxiliary fort, which followed the Canabae in time, extended east of the camp. It is difficult to examine because much of the site is occupied by the 19th century military complex and the findings were destroyed by its construction. A section of the vicus was excavated about one kilometer east of the fort in 1989. There was also a limestone altar dedicated to Fortuna from the second century. The vicus is likely to have had a considerable extent, assumptions speak of a size of up to ten hectares. Because of this fact and the location of the square, which is not only strategically but also geographically favorable, it is assumed that the vicus has probably developed into an important trading center over time. An expected, extensive burial ground was probably also destroyed by the construction of the modern fort. The discovery of an urn with remains of corpses south of Marsdijk in 1994, together with the finds from the 19th century, confirms the existence of a burial ground. During the course of its existence, the vicus has been repeatedly affected by flooding by the Vecht.

Post-Roman use

In the Middle Ages the place served as a quarry. The Roman building materials were reused in the construction of (early) medieval churches in Utrecht, which was already favored by the fact that Karl Martell donated the former Roman settlements of Fectio and Traiectum to the Utrecht Monastery in 723 .

Lost and found and presentation

In 2004 the reconstruction of a three-storey wooden watchtower was completed, in which a small permanent exhibition on the Roman Vechten is housed. A large part of the finds from Fectio are kept in the Centraal Museum Utrecht , other exhibits are in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden .

See also

• List of troop camps on the Lower Germanic Limes
• List of the Roman vici in Lower Germany

literature

• Julianus Egidius Bogaers : Bunnik-Vechten - Fectio . In: Julianus Egidius Bogaers, Christoph B. Rüger : The Lower Germanic Limes. Materials on its story . Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-7927-0194-4 , pp. 62-66.
• Jeroen P. ter Brugge, Wouter K. Vos: Archeologische Kroniek Provincie Utrecht 1996-1997 . Mewadruk, Hilversum 1998, ISSN  1386-8527 .
• Ton Derks, Wouter Vos: Wooden combs from the Roman fort at Vechten. The bodily appearance of soldiers. In: Journal of Archeology in the Low Countries. 2, 2, 2009, pp. 53-77 ( PDF ).
• Saskia G. van Dockum : The Dutch river basin . In: Tilmann Bechert , Willem J. H. Willems (Hrsg.): The Roman border between the Moselle and the North Sea coast . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 , pp. 81-85.
• Saskia G. van Dockum: Vechten een Fort naast een Verheven Boomgaard . In: S. van Dockum en A. Haytsma: Archeological Monuments in Nederland . ROB, Abcoude 1997, p. 54 f.
• Saskia G. van Dokkum et al. in: Provincie Utrecht / ROB (Rijksdienst Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek) (Hrsg.): Archeologische Kroniek Provincie Utrecht 1988-1989 . Utrecht 1996, pp. 36-43.
• Saskia G. van Dokkum et al. in: Provincie Utrecht / ROB (Rijksdienst Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek) (Ed.): Archeologische Kroniek Provincie Utrecht 1990-1991 . Utrecht 1997, pp. 38-41.
• Saskia G. van Dokkum et al. in: Provincie Utrecht / ROB (Rijksdienst Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek) (Hrsg.): Archeologische Kroniek Provincie Utrecht 1994-1995 . Utrecht 1998, p. 46 f. and 71-73.
• Willem Albertus van Es , Wilfried AM Hessing , Joris Gerardus Aarts : Romeinen, Friezen en Franken in het hart van Nederland. Van Traiectum dead Dorestad 50 BC C. − 900 n. C. Matrijs, Utrecht 1994, ISBN 90-5345-049-1 .
• Michiel Hegener: Op het Spoor van Romeinen en Bataven. Nederland 2000 years . TELEAC Kosmos, Utrecht 2003.
• Wilfried AM Hessing et al .: Romeinen Lang de Snelweg. Bouwstenen voor Vechtens Verleden . ROB, Abcoude 1997.
• Wilfried AM Hessing, Chris Sueur, Bram Jansen: Tussen Fectio en Levefanum. Op zoek naar de Romeinse militaire away in het Kromme Rijngebied . Vestigia, Amersfort 2006, (= Vestigia rapporten), ISSN  1573-9406 .
• RPJ Kloosterman, Marinus Polak : De Romeinse nederzetting Fectio bij Fort Vechten. Map of opgravingen en bodemverstoringen . Nijmegen 2007, ISBN 978-90-77744-07-9 .
• Jona Lendering : De Randen van de Aarde. The Romeinen tussen Schelde en Eems. Ambo, Amsterdam 2000.
• Annemarie Luksen-IJtsma: De limesweg in West-Nederland. Inventory, analysis and synthesis of archeological onderzoek naar de Romeinse weg tussen Vechten en Katwijk. Basic report archeology 40 . Cultuurhistorie, gemeente Utrecht, Utrecht 2010, ISBN 978-90-73448-41-4 .
• Marinus Polak: Bunnik / Vechten - Fectio . In: Michel Reddé et al. (Ed.): L'architecture de la Gaule romaine. Les fortifications militaires . (= Documents d'Archéologie Française , 100). Maison des Sciences de l'Homme / Ausonius Éditions, Paris / Bordeaux 2006, pp. 244–248.
• Willem J. van Tent: Archeologische kroniek van de provincie Utrecht over de jaren 1980-1984 . Stichting Publikaties Oud-Utrecht, Utrecht 1988.

Web links

Commons : Fectio  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bunnik (Vechten) - Fectio on cultuurwijzer.nl, an official website for the cultural heritage of the Netherlands, accessed on February 12, 2014, (Dutch)
• Jona Lendering: Fectio on livius.org, accessed on February 12, 2014, (English)
• Castellum Fectio. Het oudste Romeinse legerkamp in Utrecht on the website "Collectie Utrecht", accessed on February 12, 2014, (Dutch)
• Ron van Dopperen: Romeins archief komt boven water in Utrecht. On July 12, 2010 on the website of the Province of Utrecht, accessed on February 12, 2014, (Dutch)

Remarks

1. ↑ Rijksmonument 511574
2. ↑ This tombstone is also noteworthy as it names the goddess Viradecdis , who was worshiped by the Tungrians living in Fectio . A similar find is known from Blatobulgium on Hadrian's Wall and indicates that Viradecdis is probably a Tungrian deity. According to Jona Lendering: Fectio on livius.org, accessed on February 14, 2014, (English) .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Official website of Fort bij Vechten
2. ↑ CIL 13, 8815 : Deae / [Vir] adecd (is) / [civ] es Tungri / [et] nautae / [qu] i Fectione / [c] onsistunt / v (otum) s (olverunt) l (ibentes) m (erito) .
3. ↑ Ron van Dopperen: Romeins archief komt boven water in Utrecht. ( Memento of the original from May 30, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On September 12, 2010 on the website of the Province of Utrecht, accessed on February 12, 2014. 
4. ↑ CIL 13, 12086a = AE 1916, 67 : I (ovi) O (ptimo) M (aximo) v (otum) / s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito) / C (aius) Iulius Bio / triera ( r) chus .
5. ↑ AE 1999, 1100 : C (ai) Cae [s (aris) A] ug (usti) Ger (manici) .
6. ↑ After van Dockum.
7. ↑ After Bogaers.
8. ↑ AE 1998, 970 , also HD049063 : Fortun (a) e / sacrum / Antonius / Priscus / [–––] .
9. ^ ^{A b} Saskia G. van Dockum : The Dutch river basin . In: Tilmann Bechert , Willem J. H. Willems (Hrsg.): The Roman border between the Moselle and the North Sea coast . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 , p. 85.
10. ↑ Robert Vermaat: Roman 'Turris' at Fort Vechten on the website fectio.org.uk, accessed on February 12, 2014.