Main roman roads of the Northern Gaul. Source: Les voies romaines par la Wallonie

A Roman column erected in the center of Arlon to commemorate its Gallo-roman past. Source: Timetravelrome.

Arlon is home to several Gallo-Roman ruins and sites, each with its unique historical significance.

The Neptune Tower

The Roman Neptune Tower, discovered during excavations in 1948, was part of the rampart built in Roman times. This tower was an integral part of the Gallo-Roman ramparts of the city of Arlon dating from around the year 400. The ramparts had an approximate length of 850 meters and had between 15 and 20 defense towers.

Arlon – Perimeter of ancient defensive walls. Source: Timetravelrome.

Entrance to the Neptune tower site. Source: Timetravelrome.

The Neptune tower. Source: arlon.be

The reason the “Neptune” tower bears this name is that a magnificent block representing Neptune and his trident was discovered here. It is preserved in situ, in the heart of the tower’s foundations.

Relief with Neptune. Source: https://www.cirkwi.com/fr/point-interet/179240-tour-romaine-neptune

The Jupiter Tower

The Jupiter Tower was discovered in September 2009 at a distance of approximately 125 meters from the Neptune Tower. The tower is located along rue du Marquisat, on the ground floor of an extension of the Résidence de la Knippchen.

Jupiter Tower in Arlon. Source: Timetravelrome

The bas-relief of Jupiter Caelus at the Jupiter Tower. Source: Timetravelrome.

Two other defensive towers are known in Arlon but they are not yet open for visits.

Thermal Baths

The Orolaunum thermal baths were discovered in 1907 when locomotives depot was built on the “Vieux Cimeière” site. The baths had a classic tripartite layout: cold bath (frigidarium), warm bath (tepidarium) and hot bath (caldarium). A religious inscription dedicated to Hercules was also discovered on the site.

The site of the roman baths of Arlon. Source: arlon.be

Arlon Archaeological Museum – Hypocaust of the Baths.

The Roman column

In 1972, a drainage contractor discovered a large fragment of a religious monument erected to the glory of Jupiter, the celestial god and protector of families and their possessions. It is usually associated with a coronation featuring a horseman slaying a half-human, half-serpent monster. This type of monument was inspired by a model created in Mainz in honor of Nero. It is assumed to have an octagonal base dedicated to the gods of the week. The column in the Grand’ Rue is a reconstruction made from copies, installed in the early 1990s to evoke the city’s Gallo-Roman past.

Base of the “Roman column”. Source: Timetravelrome.

“Roman column” of Arlon. Source: Timetravelrome.

Arlon Archaeological Museum

Founded in 1934, the Musée Archéologique d’Arlon brings together a wealth of Gallo-Roman artefacts discovered in the province of Luxembourg. The Gallo-Roman Lapidary Gallery is the largest of its kind in Belgium, with the best-quality artefacts. It contains more than 425 sculptures from funerary monuments and civic buildings. The remarkable preservation of these sculptures is due to their re-use in the foundations of the rampart built at the end of Antiquity to protect Orolaunum vicus from Germanic invasions. At the end of the third century, Gaul, like the rest of the Roman Empire, experienced great instability, due to the presence of Germanic populations coming from the east. The inhabitants of Orolaunum, who until then had occupied the valley, took refuge on the hill and fortified it. They use stones from cemeteries or civil monuments, cut them, and make the foundations of a defensive wall. These remains are now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of the city.

Below are a few highlights from the Museum’s collection.

Bacchic procession relief.

Relief depicting a meal scene in a house. Source: Timetravelrome.

Relief on the mausoleum of Vervicius depicting Ariadne on Naxos uncovered by Silenus on behalf of Bacchus. Source: Timetravelrome.

A relief with a warrior found in 1971 on rue de la Caserne. Source: Timetravelrome.

One of the my preferred objects in the Museum of Arlon are spherical-shaped balsamarii found at the necropolis of Hochgericht. I think they really look like Christmas balls.

Hochgericht Necropolis spherical balsamarii. Source: Timetravelrome.

Spherical balsamarium from Hochgericht Necropolis. Source: Timetravelrome.

Another exceptional and probably unique object displayed in the Museum of Arlon is a lead (!) mold used to produce fake coins. It was found in 1898, near Schadeck (Belgian Luxembourg), in a field where remains of a roman building could be seen. The imprint is that of a denarius of Nero. The forty-four imprints were made with the same piece placed successively at forty-four different locations of the mold. It is debatable what metal was used for the production of the fakes – it seems that the only possibility was to produce fake coins using an alloy of lead and tin.

Lead counterfeiting molds -found in 1898 near Schadeck. Source: Timetravelrome.

Another foto of the counterfeiting molds. Source: Timetravelrome.

I hope you have enjoyed this little story about the Gallo-roman Arlon and its archaeological museum !

Sources:

Les voies romaines par la Wallonie. La voie Metz-Tongres.

Revue Belge de Numismatique, 1920.

Header picture: Arlon Archaeological Museum – balsamarii found at the Hochgericht Necropolis. Source – Timetravelrome.

This transportation axis between the Rhine and Meuse passed through various towns that were all founded under Augustus. In this article we will provide a guide to three of them: Maastricht (Traiectum ad Mosam), Heerlen, and Tongres (Atuatuca Tungrorum). We also provide a short description of Roman remains found in Liège (which depended from the Civitas Tungrorum), now part of the Archéoforum under the square Saint-Lambert.

Illustration of the Via Belgica from the “Roman bathing in Coriovallum – The thermae of Heerlen revisited” by K. Jeneson and W.K. Vos (eds.), 2020.

Maastricht – Traiectum ad Mosam

As many other sites on the Via Belgica, Maastricht owes its existence to this military road, which crossed the Meuse to the north of the Ardennes massif where the valley sides are gentler. The site emerged at the confluence of the river Jeker, on the west bank, and the river Geul, on the east bank, with the river Meuse.

There are no known ancient sources which relate to the ancient Maastricht, excepting a mention in the Historiae, written by Tacitus, at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. It concerns the Roman general Labeo who held the bridge across the Meuse – pons mosae fluminis – during the Batavian uprising (69-70 AD), whilst Julius Civilis together with his allies, marching from Cologne in a westerly direction, attempted to seize it. It is the oldest known account of a battle for the Meuse crossing. The town’s Latin name – Traiectum ad Mosam (Crossing on the Meuse) – first occurs in the Middle Ages.

Reconstruction of the late Roman Maastricht. By Kleon3 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Maastricht was possibly a stronghold, but there was also a sanctuary at the mouth of the Jeker, as attested by archaeological finds under the present site of the cloister of the church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwe). This sanctuary, a bath-house and some incomplete residential houses are the only Roman buildings which have been excavated as yet. It seems that a large part of the settlement was destroyed around 270 AD. Later, a smaller fort (170 metres long by 90 metres wide) was rebuilt in the second quarter of the 4th century on the west bank of the river Meuse.

Maastricht keeps little remains of its Roman past. For example the Op de Thermen courtyard keeps no traces of the ancient Thermae – all remains are hidden underneath the surrounding buildings.

Contours of a Roman bath house in the pavement of Op de Thermen square. By Kleon3 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Excavation of a Roman bathhouse in 1963-1965. By Lahaye / Rijksdienst voor Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek. CC BY-SA 3.0.

The best-preserved Roman traces of Maastricht can be found in the Derlon Museum Cellar (Museumkelder Derlon), located on Onze Lieve Vrouweplein square. The place is unique: the Roman were preserved thanks to massive reconstruction works in 1983-85, which unearthed remains of a Roman sanctuary, including a walled square with a Jupiter Column. These finds attested that the area belonged to one of the central estates of the former Roman vicus.

View of Museumkelder Derlon (Hotel Derlon Museum Basement). By Kleon3 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Excavations at the site of Derlon Museum in 1983. By Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Heerlen – Coriovallum

Coriovallum emerged during the Augustan period at the crossroads of two important Roman roads. The first is Via Belgica, and it linked the border region along the Rhine with the hinterland in Gaul; the second ran from Aquae Granni (Aachen) in the south, along the right bank of the Meuse, to the large legionary camp of Vetera in Xanten to the north. Coriovallum was thus directly linked to the two coloniae later established on the Rhine: Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne) and Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten).

General view on the Heerlen Baths site. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Coriovallum was built in order to defend the strategic location and serve as a base of operations for military companies and supply chains. Funerary offerings found by archeologists in the area prove that Coriovallum had his share of rich families, making it more than just a minor town, and this is attested by the existence of a bath house built after 50 AD.

Visual reconstruction of the Gallo-roman settlement at Heerlen. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

The first bathhouse consisted of a main building with four bathing rooms (apodyterium, frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium) in a row and a fifth adjacent circular room (the laconicum) to the west. All the heated rooms shared a single heating system. The apodyterium was so large that people probably also exercised there. The bathhouse was later expanded in the late Flavian or Trajanic period, and a surrounding wall was built creating a complex four times larger than the original site, at around 2000 m2. The bathhouse existed for at least a century and a half in its extended form.

View on the hypocaust of the Baths. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

The whole area is thoroughly excavated and makes part of the wonderful Thermenmuseum. The museum offers some useful digital and 3D reconstructions and hosts many archaeological finds, including very well preserved Gallo-roman kiln.

Reconstruction of the Bath’s interiors. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Gallo-roman kiln. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Tongeren – Atuatuca Tungrorum

Some 15 kilometres distance to the west of Maastricht is the town of Tongeren – Atuatuca Tungrorum. Occupying a hilltop overlooking the surrounding countryside, Atuatuca was originally a fortress belonging to a tribe of the same name. During the Roman conquest of the area, Julius Caesar established a winter camp on the hilltop, only for his legionaries to be massacred there by the Eburones under their leader Amborix in 54 BC. This was the most severe defeat suffered by the Roman legions during the entire conquest of Gaul.

Reconstruction of the Atuatuca Tungrorumin the Gallo-roman museum of the city. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album with Tongeren pics.

Caesar then wiped out the Eburones and Augustus subsequently handed the territory over to the Germanic Tungri tribe. There was a continuing military presence at the fort, which led to the growth of a civilian settlement alongside. Tongeren became an impressive town with walls of the 2nd century up to 4500 metres in length, though reduced to 2800 metres in the 4th century.

Roman walls of Tongeren. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album with Tongeren pics.

The city became an important commercial center, sending supplies to the frontier on the Rhine, and it continued to prosper even after the military withdrew. The exact location of the forum is still uncertain, but remains – or rather a geometrical reconstruction – of a large temple dating to the late first century AD can be visited.

Reconstruction of the temple of Tongeren in the Gallo-Roman museum. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album with Tongeren pics.

A statue of Amborix – leader of Eburones – stands in the centre of the modern city, and substantial stretches of the Roman walls have survived to the north and west.

Amborix statue in the center of Tongren. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album with Tongeren pics.

Finds from the Roman period are displayed in the excellent Gallo-Roman Museum of Tongres.

Gallo-Roman Museum of Tongres

The Gallo-Romeins Museum of Tongeren was established in 1954 and received its modern building in 1994. The wonderful permanent exhibition starts with the Neanderthals, but the major part is dedicated to the Gallo-Roman culture until the beginning of the Christianity.

Museum room with a mosaic floor and frescoes. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Reconstruction of a Gallo-roman funerary scene. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Early 4th century grave with wall painting. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

The painting on the grave wall. The dove possibly refers to a Christian motif. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Reconstruction of the Tongeren necropolis in 150 AD. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Recently, the Museum hosted an exhibition called “Face to face with the Romans” (Oog in oog met de Romeinen). This excellent exhibition was dedicated to Romans themselves: young and old, rich and poor, and it was wonderfully illustrated by some 250 pieces from the British Museum. You can find a detailed TimeTravelRome photo album from this exhibition following this link.

Sculpted head of the future Emperor Augustus Marble 43-31 BC Rome. Seen at the “Face to face with the Romans” exhibition. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album with exhibition pics.

Votive marble panel dedicated by the priestess Claudia Ageta to the goddess Demeter Around 170 AD. Seen at the “Face to face with the Romans” exhibition. Source: TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album with exhibition pics.

Liege – Archéoforum

Depending on the City of Tongres, at the beginning of its Roman period of history, Liège had just a few buildings located on the left bank of the river. It was a villa and it included barns, attics, workshops and stables. In the center, there was an imposing residential building 54 m long by 35 m wide – the only one that has been found to date. It was abandoned in the 4th century and reoccupied again in the 6-7th centuries. Remains of the villa and of the Baths’ hypocacaust can be seen in the Archéoforum of Liège – a large underground archaeological exhibition located under the square Saint-Lambert.

Ancient archaeological remain in the Archéoforum of Liège. Source : TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

The Roman building in the Place Saint-Lambert was likely integrated into the Civitas Tungrorum traffic network. The site has a natural access route to the plateau (the Légia) and is located 4 km upstream from the river crossing via the Tongeren-Trier route. It is possible that the Roman villa under the square Saint-Lambert belonged to a rich vineyard owner or a trader, whose prosperity was related to the proximity of the Via Belgica.

Hypocacaust in the the Archéoforum of Liège. Source : TimeTravelRome. Link to the full album.

Via Belgica on the TimeTravelRome mobile app

TimeTravelRome mobile app offer a unique feature: it maps all Roman roads. For all most important roads (they appear in green) their name can also be displayed – one has juste to click on the road. All major cities on the Via Belgica, as well as other Roman Roads are featured in the app and a description of all main sites is provided.

Sources

• Henrard Denis, van Der Sloot Pierre, Léotard Jean-Marc, « La villa de la place Saint-Lambert à Liège (Belgique) : nouvel état des connaissances », Revue du Nord, 2008/5 (N° 378), p. 157-174.
• Site of the Thermes Museum in Heerlen : www.thermenmuseum.nl/en
• “Roman bathing in Coriovallum –  The thermae of Heerlen revisited” by K. Jeneson and W.K. Vos (eds.). Nederlandse Archeologische Rapporten nr. 65. Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Amersfoort, 2020.
• “A Roman Puzzle. Trying to find the Via Belgica with GIS”. J. Verhagen, C. Jeneson. Published 2012.
• “Giving a future to a part of Roman Maastricht: the Hotel Derlon museum cellar”. T. Panhuysen. Published 2010
• “A shorter history of Maastricht: Maastricht from Roman times to the Middle Ages”. Publication of the University of Amsterdam. 2009.