Fectio, known as ''Vechten'' in

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...

, was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

castellum A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of (' military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It is distinct from a , which ...

'' in the province

Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...

established in the year 4 or 5 AD. It was located at the place where the river Vecht (''Fectio'') branched off from the Rhine, leading to

Lake Flevo The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

, which was later to become the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

. This was near the modern hamlet of Vechten in the municipality

Bunnik Bunnik () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and village in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. The recorded history of the village dates back nearly 2000 years, when the Ancien ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

History

Imperial Roman coinage teaches us that the castellum was built by order of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, then engaged in his campaign of 4–5 AD. It was probably used as a starting point for cross-border punitive raids. In 40 AD the emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

visited Fectio during the trip to Lugdunum Batavorum, the ancient Brittenburg. In its vineyards, the remains of an ancient postage stamp were discovered during the excavations of 1995. Under the emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

, Fectio became part of the Rhine limes. Then around 70 AD, at the time of the Batava revolt, the castellum was completely burned. It was later rebuilt by a cavalry squadron. The accumulation of Rhine sediments began to change its path. Pottery from the XXII Primigenia legion has been discovered in "Castra Vetera", near present-day

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

. During the reign of

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

, between 138 and 161 AD, the fortress was rebuilt, this time of brick and stone. Around 200 AD, it seems that the continuous sediments of the river prevented access to the boats. It was abandoned in 275 AD and was never rebuilt.

Data

Under emperor

, Fectio became part of the

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier''), or 'Germanic Limes', is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman ...

. The archeological site contains the remains of a fort, port, cemetery, and a civilian settlement. In 1995, it was submitted to be a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

and is currently on the tentative list. The site was added to the World Heritage List in 2021 as part of the

Lower Germanic Limes The Lower Germanic Limes (, , ) is the former frontier between the Roman province of Germania Inferior and Germania Magna. The Lower Germanic Limes separated that part of the Rhineland left of the Rhine as well as the southern part of the Nether ...

. From 1 June 2023 to 31 October 2024 there is a small exhibit of the hundred most important finds in the

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden The (English language, English: National Museum of Antiquities) is the national archaeology, archaeological museum of the Netherlands, located in Leiden. It grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with ...

. One of the finds is an altar stone which has the name 'Fectio'. The low oxygen content of the ground makes that many wooden and leather artefacts were preserved.

References

External links

Fectio (Vechten)

Roman legionary fortresses in Netherlands Roman fortifications in Germania Inferior Buildings and structures in Utrecht (province) 0s establishments in the Roman Empire 1st-century establishments Bunnik {{Netherlands-hist-stub

History

Data

See also

References

External links