INTRODUCTION

The description of find-spots is preceded by a brief overview of the transformation of each area after the Roman conquest, beginning with the area north of the Roman limes, followed by the limes zone and the area south of it. An extensive historical overview of the Roman Netherlands can be found in several standard works.

Although publications of single settlements, military forts and burial sites have been important for this study, they do not allow for many conclusions concerning the development of each area as a whole. The western North Sea coast, for example, north and south of the Rhine, has not been the subject of any synthesising study yet. The same applies to burial customs in the study area. The Lower German limes zone, stretching between the North Sea and modern Remagen in Germany, was on the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites for some time and has been added to the World Heritage list in 2021.

The scarce settlements and sites that have been extensively excavated and published may present a distorted picture of historical reality. As a consequence, this chapter reflects the unbalanced distribution of the available data.

Preceded by an introduction to each area, the find-spots are presented per province, in alphabetical order. Each section ends with a table of find-spots without archaeological data and a table of uncertain find-spots.

THE AREA NORTH OF THE RHINE

IMPORTED GOODS: EVIDENCE OF TRADE OR DIPLOMATIC GIFTS?

The area north of the Rhine consists of the modern provinces of North Holland, Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel, Flevoland and the northern part of Gelderland. The Roman military campaigns by Drusus and Germanicus in the northern Netherlands, between 12 BCE and 16, have left little trace in the archaeological record.