Via Mansuerisca

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Via Mansuerisca is the name of an old street, the origin of which probably goes back to Roman times . A route of the road from “Drossart” in the north to Botrange in the south over a distance of about five kilometers is proven , the further route is unknown.

Surname

The exact meaning of the name has not yet been ascertained without any problems, especially since different meanings have been assumed for the different spellings. In the following some different spellings and interpretations: · Mansuerisca = mansuarius = settlers = street of the settlers · Mansuarisca = Masuaria = area of ​​the Meuse = street to the Meuse area · Transverisca = colonists' way · Transwarisca = over the Warche . Since none of these solutions has been completely convincing up to our time, one keeps returning to the original explanation of the Via Mansuerisca as a street for settlers and colonists.

history

The name "Via Mansuerisca" was mentioned for the first time in the diploma of the Frankish King Childerich II from the year 670. In it, the boundaries of the monastery districts Malmedy - Stavelot were revised and redefined. There were other mentions in documents from the years 814 and 950, in which the boundaries were confirmed. Over time, however, the knowledge about this street disappeared more and more from people's minds. On solid ground, new paths and roads led over their original course. In the area of ​​the swampy Venn areas it was more and more overgrown by the moor. It was not rediscovered until 1768 by Maria Theresa's forestry and customs officials above the place in the High Fens called “Drossart” . At that time, a route was sought in this area between the provinces of Limburg and Luxembourg , both of which belonged to the Habsburg Netherlands . During this work, the stone paving of an old road was found under a thick layer of peat and bog. After two months of research, the route from “Drossart” via the Hillbach to “Les Wez” was rediscovered. However, the enormous cost of restoration deterred the authorities, and the revolutionary turmoil that set in in the following years made the old Via Mansuerisca forgotten again. In 1804, the sub-prefect Perigny from Malmedy also looked for ways to restore this ancient road, but his efforts were unsuccessful in those troubled times. During the 19th century there were several attempts by German and Belgian archaeologists to find the route back. These efforts were more or less unsuccessful. It was not until 1932 that the local researcher Abbé Joseph Bastin actually succeeded in rediscovering the Via Mansuerisca near the Hill about 400 m below the source. He was able to prove the route on the basis of three exposures on the Hill, at "Brochpierre" and in "Les Biolettes" to "Drossart". Even today, most of the knowledge about the course and existence of this mysterious road is based on the research of the Abbé Bastin.

Age of the street

First investigations by the Abbé Bastin put the origin with a dating in the first half of the 4th century clearly in Roman times. Later investigations using the radiocarbon method confirmed the origin in Roman times. The year 208 AD (+/- 119 years) was determined as the mean. Only studies using scientific methods date the timbers of the substructure to the time of the 5th – 9th centuries. Century, so in the Merovingian - or Carolingian period . There are also assumptions that this great Vennstrasse was an important connecting route in pre-Roman times. In the course of the excavations, which took place in 2004, a geochemical analysis and time determination by radiocarbon method on the roadside were carried out, which now suggest the thesis that the age of the construction could be between the Roman and the Merovingian periods. The method used is similar to that described by Dalemans and Streel in 1986 and consists in the joint analysis of pollen and mineral dust . The road could thus have been built between 300 +/- 90 and 460 +/- 80. The older date corresponds to the first invasions of the Alemanni and Franks and the crisis of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. The more recent date corresponds to the final seizure of power by the Merovingians in the High Middle Ages. Anyway, at the moment we can probably assume that the age will remain just as mysterious for some time as some other knowledge about this street.

Routing

The course of the Via Mansuerisca from “Drossart” in the north to Botrange in the south has been proven beyond doubt over a distance of about five kilometers. There are various theories about the further continuations to the north and south. Unfortunately, due to the constant changes in the terrain, an exact definition is impossible outside the moor area. One possibility is a route from Trier to Maastricht . This would also have connected the Roman Imperial Roads Cologne - Reims and Cologne - Bavay (near Valenciennes ). Amel was created at the intersection with Cologne-Reims. Winterspelt claims that it was also on the route.

Construction

The type of construction in the area of ​​the moorland differs slightly from one another in detail in various places, but gives us a general picture of the construction. It consisted of three layers of wood and a top layer of stone blocks and gravel. The width of the street was about six meters. As the main girders on which the entire system rested, two heavy wooden planks, each about 1.20 m long, were let into the moor. At the sides they protruded about a third over the street and repeated at intervals of four meters. A strong long piece of wood rested on each of these lateral crossbeams in the direction of travel. In some places, a third long timber could be built in the middle of the road, which rested directly on the peat. Across these two to three longitudinal timbers, round timbers were laid in close succession as a kind of billet dam over the entire width of the street. Larger blocks of stone were then placed on top of this wooden structure with the flat side down. This was followed by a layer of coarse to fine gravel, which was used to fill in the irregularities and resulted in a smooth road surface. The construction of the road contained another peculiarity that gave rise to many considerations. The lowermost heavy wooden planks had two holes next to each other in which wooden pegs rested. The tips pointing downwards protruded into the peat and could have given the construction in the peat more stability. The part pointing upwards perhaps protruded beyond the entire street system and could have served to make the course of the street clear. The fact that two pegs stood next to each other could also lead to the conclusion that longitudinal wooden planks were attached between them to prevent the gravel layer from slipping into the bog.

use

On the basis of chemical investigations that revealed a specific lead and zinc contamination of the roadside, it can be assumed that ores were transported from the mines in the Verviers or Kelmis area to the smelters in Trier.

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