A dendrochronological reassessment of three Roman boats from Utrecht (the Netherlands): evidence of inland navigation between the lower-Scheldt region in Gallia Belgica and the limes of Germania inferior

Abstract

This study addresses the provenance of two Roman river barges and a Roman punt excavated along the limes of Germania inferior near the Dutch city of Utrecht (De Meern 1, 4 and 6). To establish the geographical origin of these vessels, their tree-ring series are compared to 1452 dated oak (Quercus robur/petraea) growth patterns from Roman-period sites in the current Netherlands and Belgium. The strong resemblance to patterns of oak used in the civitas Menapiorum and the bordering region of civitas Nerviorum in Gallia Belgica indicates that the ships were built with oak from the lower-Scheldt region in present-day Flanders (north-western Belgium). Given the absence of Flemish oak in Roman land-based constructions along the Dutch limes, this provenance implies that the vessels were constructed in the lower-Scheldt region. The geographical location of the final wreck sites of De Meern 1, 4 and 6 points at economic relations and inland-navigation routes between this region and the Rhine-based limes of Germania inferior.