RIJSWIJK
S Holland, Netherlands.
Site between The Hague and Delft, occupied by a civilian settlement covering ca. 3.5 ha from the 1st to the 3d c. A.D. The site lies behind the dunes in what is now Polder.
Before the Roman period and after the end of the 3d c.
A.D. the area was too wet for habitation, but in Roman
times it was densely populated in spite of having no
dikes and being exposed to flooding. About 3 km farther
N lay a large township (probably Forum Hadriani), near
which a Roman milestone has been found. The Fossa
Corbulonis, the canal dug by Roman troops from the
Meuse to the N branch of the Rhine, must have run not
far from the settlement.
Excavation has provided information on the Romanization of the local inhabitants, the Cannanifates. The
basic dwelling in the settlement was the tripartite wooden
house (20-38 x 5-7.5 m), typical of habitations along
the North Sea coast as far as Denmark. As a rule the
house was divided into a living area with a fireplace and
a stable, both distinguished by a characteristic grouping
of roof posts and entrances. In the last phase of the
occupation, in the 3d c., the most important house was
rebuilt in wood and stone according to Roman technique, but retaining the traditional local ground plan. A
number of rooms were built entirely in stone, a material
not available in the area which was brought from the
Eifel and the Ardennes. These rooms were also decorated
with wall paintings. In this period also the simple native
granaries were replaced by two larger granaries raised
on 3 or 4 parallel foundation trenches (9.4-11.6 x 6-10
in). In the 1st c. the two or three houses of the settlement
were scattered in the open country, in the 2d c. four
centers of habitation were grouped in a square and surrounded by a wide ditch, and in the 3d c. the ditch was
connected with a system of ditches that covered at least
25 ha. This area was probably pastureland for livestock.
The numerous animal remains from Roman times indicate that animal husbandry was the chief means of subistence. There is some imported Roman pottery, but
local ceramics are strongly represented. This pottery is
closely related to the so-called Frisian ceramics of N
Holland.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J.H.F. Bloemers,
Nieuwsbull. Kon. Ned.
Oud. Bond (1968) 94-95; (1969) 40-42; (1970) 35-37;
id., “Nederzetting uit de Romeinse tijd bij Rijswijk,”
Spiegel Historiael 4 (1969) 402-6.
J.H.F. BLOEMERS
