DRUSUS IN FRIESLAND

Tineke B. Volkers

Until the 19th century the northern part of the Netherlands, and especially the province of Friesland, was dominated by more than a thousand terps, elevated dwelling places. The highest terp at Hoogebeintum was about 10 meters high. Habitation started about 600 BC.

At the beginning of the 19th century the terps were quarried because people discovered that their soil was an excellent fertilizer. During these commercial excavations a large number of early Roman imports were found, which fall into two clusters when divided by period. The smaller scale and earlier cluster contains material from the first half of the first century AD and is related to the Roman occupation of the Frisian territory during this era. The cluster shows a remarkable pattern of dispersion. A number of early Roman pottery sherds were found at the terp Bruggeburen near the village Winsum. They were interpreted as having belonged to a Roman military outpost. Here a large-scale excavation was carried out in 1998.

Especially the terra sigillata, described in the end of February 2001 together with Prof. Jan Kees Haalebos, gives a good date of the site. Besides the Roman harbor at Velzen, Winsum-Bruggeburen is the only location in the Netherlands beyond the limes where military presence can be attested.

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