Posted on 10/23/2009 8:23:16 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Batavians, who lived in the Netherlands at the start of the Christian era were far more Roman than was previously thought. After just a few decades of Roman occupation, the Batavians had become so integrated that they cooked, built and bathed in a Roman manner. Dutch researcher Stijn Heeren... studied excavated artefacts and traces of settlements and burial fields in the neighbourhood of Tiel. In Dutch history, the Batavians are often presented as a brave people who resisted a cruel oppressor. But Stijn Heeren has now demonstrated that these 'simple people' also adopted a lot of Roman customs. According to him the small farming communities changed into villages where Roman practices made their entrance... By studying the chronology of the excavation site and by analysing several specific categories of finds, Heeren could show how and when the locals started to participate in the economic, military and cultural structures of the Roman Empire. The archaeologist discovered that within a few decades of Roman occupation, the Batavians used Roman ingredients in their cooking, that the farmers used makeup and oil in the same way as the Romans in their baths and that they built their farms according to the Roman style.
(Excerpt) Read more at alphagalileo.org ...
Interesting.
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Interesting...
Batavian Auxilliaries were akey factor in the success of the Claudian invasion of Britain, especially in the river crossing battles.
PINGVS MAXIMVS
En tochus, niet omnia via naar Romam leidit.
The Romans in Ireland
Archaeology Today | 2000? | L.A. Curchin
Posted on 07/18/2004 8:54:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1173950/posts
Thanks!
Batavian auxiliaries were highly valued in the Roman Army for their ability to swim themselves and their horses across rivers, leading to unpleasant surprises among the forces opposing Roman Armies at fords.
It would be interesting to see how they adapted the Roman building style to a cool and damp climate. I’ve heard their buildings were more enclosed than typical Roman homes and shops.
The hypercaust originated to deal with some of the cooler weather in some of the early conquests, and really came into its own in places with (what the Romans must have considered) real winter weather.
It seems that the folks in northern and western Europe, after a few decades being brought into submission thought that the Roman Way of Living was the best thing since sliced bread. Even people not under Roman rule adopted it as far as they could. The eastern part of the Empire, formerly part of the Hellenistic world, was not so fond of Roman culture but admired their abilities in construction and in stable pubic administration (except for the Jews, of course).
stable pubic administrationWhat kind??? ;')
(except for the Jews, of course)Yeah, one might say the Romans mishandled that situation. /understatement
I do not think that the Parthians OR the Romans were really into balance of power type relationships. Submit or die was their approach to powerful neighbors.
:’)
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