NAMURCUM
(Namur) Belgium.
A Gallo-Roman vicus of the civitas Tungrorum. Diverticula linked
this center to the Bavai-Tongres road to the N and to the
Bavai-Trier road to the S. At the end of the Iron Age
a rather poor village existed at the foot of the modern
citadel at the junction of the Sambre and the Meuse.
Its humble remains have only recently been discovered.
The village was located on the territory of the Atuatuci.
It has been suggested that the oppidum Atuatucorum,
besieged and taken by Caesar in 57 B.C., was located on
the plateau of Le Champeau, with an area of 70 ha, at
the spot where Vauban ordered the construction of the
citadel in 1692. However, no Iron Age remains have
been found on the plateau. The “Vieux Murs,” destroyed
by Vauban during the building of the citadel, probably
were not Gallic but should rather be dated to the time
of the Late Empire. It seems more likely that the oppidum of the Atuatuci should be identified with the hill
of Hastedon, 5 km from Namur, where there are still
remains of an enclosure built according to the murus
gallicus technique. In any case, the vicus of Namurcum
already was of some importance in the time of Augustus, as proved by sherds of Arretine terra sigillata
(very rare in Belgium) found with other remains of
the time of Augustus in 1967 during the construction
of a house. This importance is understandable because
Namur was the economic center of the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, a very fertile region where rich villas abounded
(for example, Anthée, Gerpinnes, Maillen, Mettet, Rognée, etc.) and where there was a large ironworking
industry. Since the vicus is located under the modern
town, systematic excavations are impossible. However,
stray finds and minor excavations occasioned by public
works show that while the built-up area of the Early
Empire had its center between the Sambre and the
Meuse it also extended to Salzinnes and La Plante on
both sides of the Champeau plateau. There was probably
even a bridgehead on the right bank of the Meuse at
Jambes. Necropoleis with incineration tombs of the
first three centuries A.D. have been found on the outskirts of the built-up area, notably at La-Motte-du-Comte,
Saint-Servais, Salzinnes, La Plante, and Jambes. Thus,
it seems that the built-up area of Roman times was as
extensive as the mediaeval town. The street network of
the vicus is barely known, but since the old quarter of
Namur has a checkerboard plan rather unusual for a
mediaeval town, one may suspect that this regular network goes back to Roman times. Besides, that no large Roman road passed through Namur suggests that water routes played a key role in the economy of the center
and that there was a river port. The enormous quantities of Roman coins found in the Sambre near its junction with the Meuse probably is related to the existence of this river port. As far as remains of the vicus itself
are concerned, apart from stray finds, the foundations
of one large dwelling should be noted. It was brought to
light in 1931 during public works in the Rue du Bailli.
Two large rooms were cleared: the first was pierced on
the inside by 5 semicylindrical and vaulted niches 1 m
high; the second was above a hypocaust. In the fill there
were bases of columns in white stone and small Tuscan
columns 50 cm high. Supposedly these would have been
on top of the niches just mentioned.
The vicus was sacked during the Frankish invasions
of the second half of the 3d c. Traces of fire are found
everywhere in the subsoil. Many hoards of coins found
in Namur and neighboring villages were buried between
258 and 273. After the disaster, the town was rebuilt,
but over a much more limited area. It was restricted to
the space between the Sambre and the Meuse. It may
have been fortified. Perhaps the Vieux Murs of the
Champeau, mentioned above, date to this period and
barred the isthmus between the two rivers. Nevertheless, all that is known of this period are a large number of coins and some inhumation tombs, notably at the Place d'Armes and La Plante. Nothing is known about
Namur's fate at the end of the Later Empire and about
the town's transition to the Early Middle Ages.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. De Maeyer,
De Overblijfselen der
Romeinsche Villa's in België (1940) 283-85; R. Demeuldre, “Le développement de la ville de Namur des
origines aux temps modernes,”
Annales de la Soc. arch.
de Namur 47 (1953) 1-156
PI; F. Rousseau,
Namur,
ville mosane (2d ed. 1958); id.,
Namur (1965) 295-310
P.
S. J. DE LAET
