Romeins Nijmegen

Abstract

Summary The Roman period in the history of Nijmegen starts in 19 BC with the construction of a large military camp on the Hunerberg and ends with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. During this period of nearly 500 years the dynamic history of Nijmegen and the surrounding Batavian area was partly determined by well-considered decisions made by Roman emperors and their army commanders in the province. In addition, incoming Germanic tribes, rebelling Romans and natural events such as climate change and two pandemics each determined the course of this history in its own unique way. Since 1914 archaeological research within the municipal boundaries has uncovered the remains of various military fortresses and smaller camps, urban settlements, small hamlets, burial grounds and an aqueduct. The results of these excavations unravel parts of the history of the oldest city in the Netherlands, but much is still awaiting discovery in the Nijmegen soil and in the archaeological depots.