Roman villa

Roman villa


During the Roman Period most people in this country lived in the countryside. Only a small part of the population lived in the towns. The richest citizens lived in big luxurious houses (villae). Tradesmen and craftsmen lived in town. They lived in much simpler houses, like the one reconstructed in Traiectum ad Rhenum.

This town house (Domus) is based on an excavation in the town of Voorburg

(near The Hague). In the 2nd century this town was the site of a Roman town called Forum Hadriani (named after the Emperor Hadrian).

The potter works in the front part of the house. On the potter’s wheel the potter makes all kinds of pottery. The Romans introduced the potter’s wheel. The local inhabitants still made handmade pottery.

Behind the workshop is a kitchen and a small dining room. In Roman times, the upper floor was often let to all kinds of strange lodgers (at the moment this is where the Archeon office is located..).

In the yard is a small wood-fired kiln. Many Roman potters’ kilns have been found in the Netherlands. The kiln in Archeon is only a small one. Around the town of Nijmegen were kilns in which hundreds of roof-tiles could be fired at the same time. Roof-tiles often carried the stamp of the relevant military unit. Most tiles found in Alphen aan den Rijn carry the stamp EXGERINF: Exercitus Germania Inferior. This was the Lower Germanic army, a division of native auxiliary troops of the Roman legions.

The earthenware industry was an important part of the Roman economy in the provinces. Thanks to the stamps (signatures) of the manufacturers, we know exactly were the pottery was made. A lot of pottery found in the Netherlands for instance, came from the south of France and from Germany. Often plates and bowls were provided with the names of both the craftsman and the owner. 

 

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