Nigrum Pullum

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Nigrum Pullum
limes Lower Germanic Limes
Dating (occupancy) A) after 47 to 69/70
B.1) after 80 to around 150
B.2) around 150 to around 175
C) around 175 to around 260/275
Type Vexillation fort
(or cohort fort)
unit probably mixed infantry and cavalry vexillations , u. a. Cohors XV voluntariorum civium Romanorum , various towers , Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
size A) 1.0 ha
B) 1.16 ha
C) 1.2 ha
Construction A) Wood-earth warehouse
B) Wood-earth warehouse
C) Stone fort
State of preservation Ground plan of the Porta decumana and the Principia made visible in the area
place Alphen aan den Rijn - Zwammerdam
Geographical location 52 ° 6 '18.5 "  N , 4 ° 42' 57.5"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 6 '18.5 "  N , 4 ° 42' 57.5"  E
height 1  m NAP
Previous Bodegraven Fort (southeast)
Subsequently Albaniana (northwest)

Nigrum Pullum (German for Black Earth or Black Chicken ) was the name of a Roman auxiliary fort, along with the port and civil settlement ( vicus ) on the Lower Germanic Limes . The relics of the former garrison are in the area of Zwammerdam , a village in the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn in the Dutch province of South Holland . In addition to the fort, the village has become known in Roman provincial archeology primarily for the Roman ship finds of Zwammerdam .

Location, sources and research history

Geological-topographical situation in the mouth of the Rhine in the 2nd century.
Nigrum Pullum in the course of the Lower Germanic Limes

In ancient times, the fort controlled the mouth of the De Meije river into the Oude Rijn . The De Meije was of military importance in that it represented a waterway through the northern moor. In this context, it is noticeable that the camp site (as well as that of the neighboring Albaniana fort to the west ) was, contrary to Roman practice, directly opposite the river mouth and not on the higher terrain, which is only a little further away. This raises all the more questions as both military camps were located in an area in which the tidal range of the Rhine caused by the North Sea must have been clearly noticeable. The ancient name Nigrum Pullum is passed down from the Tabula Peutingeriana . In today's settlement topography, the soil monument is located on the southern edge of a new development area, around one kilometer west of the center of Zwammerdam. With only 1.0 hectare (in the first wood-earth construction phase) or 1.2 hectare (in the second wood-earth construction phase and in the stone construction phase), the camp, which is one of the smallest auxiliary forts in the Lower Germanic Limes, was located in the Between 1968 and 1972 it was extensively researched by the Instituut voor Prae- en Protohistorie (IPP) of the Universiteit van Amsterdam under the direction of Willem Glasbergen . With the discovery of the six Roman ships from Zwammerdam, which began with the uncovering of the first ship discovery in December 1971, the work was finally extended to 1974.

Findings, finds, interpretations and history

Floor plan of the Nigrum Pullum fort in period III with the positions of the shipwrecks in front

The very small area found during the archaeological excavations allows a maximum of one cohort of infantrymen to be used as the occupying troop type . Now the Cohors XV voluntariorum civium Romanorum (15th cohort of voluntary Roman citizens) is documented, on the other hand, the inscriptions speak of at least three different towers , the smallest units of the Roman cavalry with around 30 to 33 riders. In addition, this cohort, which was excavated after the Clades Variana and operated in Lower Germany for the time of its existence, also appears in inscriptions in Praetorium Agrippinae ( Valkenburg ), Matilo ( Leiden ) and in Laurium ( Woerden ). It is not clear whether she switched between these locations, distributed vexillations to the individual locations or maybe even only transported her bricks to other locations and which was her own or at least main location. This inscribed juxtaposition in connection with the small storage area suggests that the occupation of the Zwammerdammer camp may have been a mixed vexillatio of different troop units, the strength of which could have been below that of a cohort, which explains the small storage area. The third type of inscription from Nigrum Pullum could also be related to this . This is an incised graffito on a Terra sigillata shard, which refers to the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix stationed in Vetera (and with a vexillatio in Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum ) . If one does not want to assume that a delegation of this legion was sent to Zwammerdam as a construction crew or that it served as a garrison at a beneficiary station located just a few hundred meters east of the camp , the only option is that they strengthened the vexillatio stationed in Nigrum Pullum . Alternatively, the assumption was made that it was only a mixed vexillation fort in the first construction phase and that parts of a Cohors quingenaria equitata (partially mounted infantry cohort) were stationed in Nigrum Pullum in the two following phases .

Period I (47 to 69)

A total of four different construction phases could be identified. The fort was built as a pure wood and earth store, presumably under the governorship of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in 47 or shortly thereafter to strengthen the Rhine front. Little is known about the structure of this first camp. Finds from this period include weapons, military bronzes, double-conical sling stones and a brick stamp with the inscription TRA . This camp existed for more than twenty years before it was devastated during the Batavian revolt in 69/70 and destroyed by fire. Afterwards, the space remained unused for military purposes for a decade.

Period II (around 80 to around 175)

Around the year 80 a new wood and earth fort was built. This camp was rectangular in shape with a wide pretorial front (around 140 m by 83 m). It was protected by a 3.5 meter wide wood-earth wall, in front of which there was a double system of ditches. Traces of Lilia were found in the inner ditch . The period II castle had only three entrances, the porta decumana (rear gate) was missing. The civil vicus extended in front of the Porta principalis dextra (right side gate) and the Porta principalis sinistra (left side gate) . Around the year 150 the fort was renewed and partially rebuilt.

Period III (around 175 to around 260/275)

Finally around 175 the fort was enlarged slightly (140.6 m by 86 m) and made of stone, whereby the vicus had to give way in part due to the renovation work on the two lateral flanks. These reconstruction measures were associated with a reorganization of the border after major incursions by the Chauken (around 173). The camp was surrounded by three instead of two defensive trenches. The inner trench was 5.00 m wide and partially had a flat bottom, the middle trench was 3.35 m wide and designed in the form of a fossa Punica ("Punic Trench"). At the fossa Punica , the embankment of the ditch facing the enemy was deeper deeper than that facing the camp. Finally, the outer ditch was a simple pointed ditch with a width of 2.50 m. In addition to the previous three warehouse gates, the new building was provided with an additional fourth, rear entrance (the Porta decumana ).

Of the interior buildings of period III, only the principia could be identified and examined. These were a rather large building in relation to the area of ​​the fort with 42 m by 27 m (= 1134 m² = almost 10% of the total area), which had a spacious inner courtyard ( atrium ) with colonnade, roll call hall , flag sanctuary and had four more rooms.

In the years 260 to 275 the fort was burned down and then abandoned. The last coin found was minted under Severus Alexander (222 to 235) or perhaps by Tacitus (275 to 276), the pottery of the last period corresponds to that of Niederbieber (190 to 260).

Auxiliary vicus

To the north-west and south-east of the camp stretched the vicus , the civilian settlement that can be found in almost every long-standing Roman military camp and in which relatives of the soldiers and members of the convoy such as craftsmen, traders, innkeepers, prostitutes and other service providers settled. The two parts of the vicus were on the paved arteries that led from the Porta principalis dextra and the Porta principalis sinistra out of the fort and connected it to the Roman Rhine Valley Road.

A stone building to the south, immediately outside the camp, resting on a foundation made of wooden stakes and gravel, was referred to as a fort thermal baths , which were available to both the military and the residents of the vicus for recreational purposes.

  • Civil finds from Nigrum Pullum

  • Glass perfume bottle

  • Barbotine vessel of the Stuart type 16

  • Feeding bottles for small children,
    late 2nd / early 3rd century

troops

In addition to the inscribed troops (parts) of the Cohors XV voluntarium civium Romanorum , the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix and various towers , which do not allow a uniform and complete picture of the stationing history of Nigrum Pullum , hardly anything is known about the crews. Evidence from finds suggests that part of the period III crew could have been Thracians .

  • Military finds from Nigrum Pullum

  • Bronze shield boss with the punched names PVPVS and HAHVCVS from period II

  • Iron gun point

  • Iron spathe

  • Stamp on a Imbrex : EXGERINF (. Lower Germanic Exercitus GermaniCus inferior army = i p v. Army Group )

Zwammerdam port facilities and ship finds

"Zwammerdam 2" during the excavations in 1972

Immediately to the north of the fort was the bank of the Rhine, which had been strongly fortified at this point over a distance of 500 meters. The quay facilities were first built in the Flavian era and had to be relocated twice in the second century - following the relocation of the river bed. After a first chance find in 1971, a total of six Roman ships, including three smaller dugout canoes and three larger barges, that had sunk or sunk there, were recovered directly in front of the bank fortifications by 1974. Along with the ship finds from Woerden and the ship finds from De Meern, this discovery is one of the most important sites where Roman ships were found in north-western Europe . The dugout canoes were all carved out of oak trunks and their lengths were between 5.48 m and 10.40 m. The large ships were also made of oak, their lengths ranged from 20.25 m to 34 m, their widths from 2.80 m to 4.40 m. Through dendrochronological studies and the ceramic finds, the ships could be dated to a period between the end of the first and the beginning of the second century.

State of preservation and museum presentation

Limes visitor center in Zwammerdam

The floor plans of the Porta decumana and the Principia were reconstructed in the original location with gabions and concrete. A Limes visitor center presents exhibits from Nigrum Pullum and provides information about the auxiliary camp , the vicus, the port facility and the ship finds from Zwammerdam. Another exhibition with the models of all ships can be found in the Grand Café “De Haven” near the site. Further exhibits are in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden .

Zwammerdam and its Roman relics are also presented in the privately operated "Archaeological Theme Park Archeon " in nearby Aalphen aan den Rijn - albeit in a very "popular science" way.

The ambitious Zwammerdamschepen en Nationaal Romeins scheepvaartmuseum (ships from Zwammerdam and the National Roman Maritime Museum) is also to be implemented on the Archeon site by 2021 . The project is related to the requested recognition of the Lower Germanic Limes as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is intended to bring all six ships that are currently still conserved or are in restoration workshops back together at the place of their discovery and make them visible.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Nigrum Pullum  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Zwammerdam  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The name Black Cockerel could refer to the water fowl that can be found there .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Wilfried AM Hessing: The Dutch coastal area . In: Tilmann Bechert and Willem J. H. Willems (eds.): The Roman border between the Moselle and the North Sea coast . Theiss, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-8062-1189-2 , p. 91.
  3. ↑ Julianus Egidius Bogaers in: Akten des XI. International Limes Congress, 1978, p. 602
  4. ↑ a b T (urmae) Veracis Pupi AE 1991, 01254a , T (urmae) Veri Hahuci AE 1991, 01254b and T (urmae) Mansueti Pupi AE 1991, 01254d .
  5. ↑ Jan Kees Haalebos and Willem JH Willems: Leiden-Roomburg and the cohors XV Voluntariorum . In: Dies .: The Lower Germanic Limes in the Netherlands, 1995–1997 . In: N. Gudea (Ed.): Roman Frontier Studies. Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies . (1999), p. 78f., ( Digitized version ).
  6. ^ Marianne Reuter: Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix . 1978, p. 108.
  7. ↑ Jan Kees Haalebos: Zwammerdam - Nigrum Pullum. An auxiliary fort on the Lower Germanic Limes . Universiteit van Amsterdam, Subfaculteit der Pre- en Protohistorie, Amsterdam 1977.
  8. ↑ a b c d e Julianus Egidius Bogaers: Alphen aan den Rijn-Zwammerdam - Nigrum Pullum . In: Julianus Egidius Bogaers and Christoph B. Rüger : The Lower Germanic Limes. Materials on its story . Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-7927-0194-4 , p. 49.
  9. ↑ nigrum Pullum on perseus.tufts.edu, the official website of the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites , (English) , accessed on 30 April 2018th
  10. ^ Jan Kees Haalebos and Julianus Egidius Bogaers: Een Schildknop uit Zwammerdam - Nigrum Pullum .
  11. ^ Will Brouwers, Esther Jansma and Martijn Manders: Romeinse scheepsresten in Nederland. Archeobrief 2013-4, p. 21f.
  12. ↑ MD De Weerd: Roman-era transport ships and dugouts from Nigrum Pullum / Zwammerdam (Z.-H.) . In: Dorothea Haupt , Heinz Günter Horn (Red.): Studies on the military borders of Rome II. Lectures of the 10th International Limes Congress in the Germania Inferior. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1977, ISBN 3-7927-0270-3 , pp. 187-198.
  13. ↑ Official website of the Archeon theme park ( Dutch , German , French , Spanish and English ), accessed on April 30, 2018.
  14. ^ The project Zwammerdamschepen en Nationaal Romeins scheepvaartmuseum on the official website of Archeon, ( Dutch ), accessed on May 1, 2018.