Coins and Coin Use in Northern-Europe:
from the Later Roman Empire to the beginning of the Early Middle Ages

     

The first archaeological site under consideration will be Neerharen-Rekem. The site is located on the border between the former villages of Neerharen and Rekem, 11 km north of Maastricht, and extends over 8-10 hectares on a former bank of the Meuse (figure 1 : map showing the location of the archaeological site of Neerharen-Rekem). After earlier observations in 1886 and 1978, the site was excavated between 1980 and 1985 by the National Institute for Archaeological Excavations (Nationale Dienst voor Opgravingen / Service National des Fouilles). The site finds contained material ranging from the Paleolithic era until post-Medieval periods, including a small Flavian Roman villa and a late-Roman village, which was inhabited between the second half of the 4^th CE and the first part of the 5^th CE. The excavations of this latter settlement yielded the ground plan of 29 pit-houses (Grübenhaüser) and 2 dwelling houses, waste ditches and a lot of ceramics and metal (figure 2 : ground plan of the late-Roman settlement at Neerharen-Rekem). Both the architectural evidence and the material of the settlement suggest a Germanic, probably Frankish, origin of the inhabitants.

During the different campaigns almost 600 late-Roman coins were excavated and identified by Jacqueline Lallemand. They will be examined in their archaeological context during this first part of the project.

G. De Boe (1981) Prehistorisch en Romeins te Neerharen-Rekem, in: Conspectus MCMLXXX (Archaeologia Belgica 238), 70-74.

G. De Boe (1982) Meer dan 1500 jaar bewoning rond de Romeinse villa te Neerharen-Rekem, in: Conspectus MCMLXXXI (Archaeologia Belgica 247), 70-74.

G. De Boe (1983) De laat-romeinse "germaanse" nederzetting te Neerharen-Rekem, in: Conspectus MCMLXXXII (Archaeologia Belgica 253), 69-73.

G. De Boe (1985) De opgravingscampagne 1984 te Neerharen-Rekem, in: Archaeologia Belgica n.r. I.2., 53-62.

G. De Boe (1986a) De opgravingscampagne 1985 te Neerharen-Rekem (gem. Lanaken), Archaeologia Belgica n.r. II.1., 23-26.

G. De Boe (1986b) Un village germanique de la seconde moitié du IV^e siècle et du début du V^e siècle à Neerharen-Rekem (Limbourg), in: M. OTTE en J. WILLEMS, La civilisation merovingienne dans le bassin mosan. Actes du colloque international d’Amay-Liège du 22 au 24 août 1985, Luik, 101-110.

G. De Boe (1987) Bewoning rond de villa te Neerharen-Rekem (B), in: P. Stuart & M.E.Th. De Grooth (eds.) Langs de weg, Heerlen/Maastricht, 51-54.

H. Van Neuss & J.-A Bamps (1888) Découverte d'une villa belgo-romaine sur la limite des communes de Neerharen et de Reckheim, Bulletin de la Commission Royale d'Art et d'Archéologie  27, 325-374.

Figure 2
Ground plan of the late-Roman settlement at Neerharen-Rekem.
In black: pit-houses, in grey: dwelling houses, in white: waste ditches.
(De Boe 1986b: 108, figure 2.)