Fectio

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Fectio (also: Fectium ), the fort Vechten or Bunnik Vechten, was a garrison village from the early days of the Roman occupation of Germania. Later it became part of the Lower Germanic Limes. Today's archaeological site lies in the field of Vechten, a living space of the municipality Bunnik in the Dutch province of Utrecht.

Location

The former Roman military court is under a fruit plantation, immediately west of Fort bij Vechten [note 1], a Dutch bastion from the 19th century, the grounds and buildings are now used as a recreational park and a cultural center. In Roman times, the fortification was on the shore of an arm of the Lek (now around seven kilometers to the south runs ), approximately at the point where the river Vecht diverged from the current to the north. Strategically, the place was so far well chosen, as both the territory of the Frisians and the the Cananefaten could be controlled from there.

History of Research

The garrison village was first mentioned around the year 700 in the cosmography of the geographer of Ravenna with the name Fictione and locates between Matellionem ( Matilo ) and Evitano ( Levefanum ). As locality Roman legacies of the area has been known since the 17th century. During the construction of the fort in the years 1867-1870 numerous finds were recovered, including in 1869 an inscription with the name specified Fectione [note 2]. However, only 10% of the suspected area are explored archaeologically until today. Between 1829 and 1947, only small -scale excavations were carried out. Larger areas investigations could be made only in connection with the widening of the Reich Autobahn A12 in the years 1988/1989 to 1996. 2010, the discovery of over one hundred writing tablets from the military archives of Fectio was known. This had been discovered already in 1978 by two " amateur archaeologists " and stored for decades under water and in a freezer. In its importance, the Tablets of Dutch media were compared with the Vindolanda panels.

Fort history and archaeological findings

Supply bearing 4 /5 to 69/70 AD

The fort was built already in the Augustan period as wood and earth stock, perhaps in the years n 4/5 BC, when Tiberius for the second time was commander in Germania. In the first decades it experienced at least six phases and served as evidenced by the inscriptions and other finds probably as a supply depot, possibly as an operational infantry and naval base. In years 40 Emperor Caligula visited the castle on his way to Lugdunum Batavorum, of which the inscription bears witness to an imperial wine barrel. Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo Under the garrison village lost from the 47 years its offensive character and was now aligned defensively. In its early phase (4 /5 to 69/70 AD), the camp was run as an irregular quadrangle of about 4.5 hectares, which open towards the banks of the Rhine, however, wide at its three land sides by a 5.40 m V-shaped ditch and a wood and earth wall was surrounded. The archaeological record of this period include three Horrea and other wooden structures, embankments, quays and ships residues. Extensive traces of settlement outside the fort area ( including numerous wells) indicate the existence of large-scale Canabae. During the Bataveraufstands in the years 69/70 AD, the fort was destroyed as evidenced by a thick burnt layer.

Auxiliary forts ( wood and earth ) from 70 to around 150 AD

Since Vespasian time Fectio eventually became part of the Lower Germanic Limes as the site of first part mounted auxiliary troops. After the area had been erected about two meters, a 2.6 or 2.7 -acre wood and earth fort was built in the form of an irregular quadrilateral. With a wide Prätorialfront ( front ), it was geared towards the Rhine, surrounded it was on all sides by a wall and a ditch. From the internal buildings, few traces were found. Known stationing troops were the Cohors II Brittonum (or Britannorum ) milliaria equitata ( 70-78 / 80 AD ) and the Cohors I Flavia Hispanorum equitata ( 78/80 to about 100 AD). The latter may have been stationed at the same time with an unknown Cohors in Vechten. The troops from the period between about 100 AD and the middle of the 2nd century AD are not known by name.

Auxiliary fort (stone) by 150 to 270/275 AD

Around the middle of the 2nd century AD, the wood and earth fort was replaced by a stone fortification and of the Ala I Thracum occupied, which had been previously stationed in Britain. The stone fort followed the plan of the previous building and took with its dimensions of approximately 150 m × 180 m an area of ​​approximately 2.7 hectares in. Surrounded it was from a 9.40 m wide Sohlgraben and a stone wall. From the structures inside the stone and the Principia also built of stone Praetorium and the remains of some wooden structures could be detected. 2./Anfang end of the 3rd century was already in the last quarter of the 1st century AD onset silting of the Rhine arm was due to the Fectio so far advanced that there is no access from the river was more possible. In the more than two and a half centuries of its existence, the camp was repeatedly devastated and rebuilt until the castle court finally - was not rebuilt and finally abandoned - as evidenced by the archaeological detected traces of fire after a final destruction in the years 270/275 AD.

Auxiliarvicus

The time following the Canabae Vicus of auxiliary forts extended east of the camp. His investigation is difficult because a large part of the site is taken from the military complex of the 19th century to complete and the findings have been destroyed by the construction. A portion of the Vicus was in 1989 about one kilometer east of the fort excavated. In this case, there was also a sacred limestone altar of Fortuna from the second century. The Vicus likely to have had a considerable expansion, assumptions speak of a size up to ten hectares. Due to this fact, and not only strategic, but also traffic favorable geographic location of the place, it is assumed that the Vicus has probably evolved over time into an important center of trade. An expected, extensive burial ground was probably also destroyed by the construction of the modern forts. The discovery of an urn containing cremated remains south of the Marsdijks in 1994 occupied together with the finds of the 19th century, the existence of the cemetery. During the period of its existence the Vicus has been repeatedly dragged by flood waters of the river Vecht affected.

Post-Roman use

In the Middle Ages, the town served as a quarry. The Roman building materials were reused in the construction of ( early) medieval churches in Utrecht, which had already been favored by the fact that Charles Martel had the former Roman settlements Fectio and Traiectum donated to the monastery Utrecht in 723.

Fund whereabouts and presentation

In 2004, the reconstruction of a three-storey, wooden watch tower was completed, in which a small permanent exhibition is housed the Roman Vechten. A majority of the finds from Fectio is kept in the Centraal Museum Utrecht, The other exhibits are located in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden.