Fectio (Vechten)

Tombstone of a slave girl named Fledimella, from Vechten. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden (Netherlands).

Tombstone of Fledimella, from Vechten. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.

Fectio: Roman limes fort, part of the limes, modern Vechten.

Fectio, modern Vechten, was a fort in the limes, the frontier zone of the Roman empire, situated at the site of the bifurcation of the rivers Rhine (which continued to the North Sea) and Vecht (to Lake Flevo and the Frisians). Numismatic evidence suggests that it was founded by the Roman general Tiberius (the future emperor) during the campaigns of 4/5. It was probably used as a military base during punitive raids.

The civil settlement of Fectio was probably to the east of the fort, but excavation is not easy because there is a nineteenth-century military settlement on the site (Fort Vechten). (Here you can see the site on a satellite photo.) However, the ancient fort itself is, together with Nijmegen, Vechten is one of the best excavated sites in the Netherlands; in 1894, it was the site of one of the first excavations of a Roman ship.

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Inscription from a wine barrel, mentioning G[aius] Cae[sar] Aug[ustus] Ger[manicus], found at Vechten. From H. Sarfatij e.a., In discussion with the past (1999).

Inscription from a wine barrel,
mentioning G[aius] Cae[sar]
Aug[ustus] Ger[manicus] (from H. Sarfatij et al., In discussion with the past, 1999; ©!!!)

In 40, the emperor Caligula visited Fectio when he was travelling to Lugdunum. The remains of a wine barrel from his personal vinyard have been found. Some thirty years later, the fortress was destroyed during the Batavian revolt and rebuilt as base of a cavalry squadron. The nearby Rhine had already started to silt up, and was later to change its course. Pottery from the kilns of the Twenty-second legion Primigenia at Xanten belongs to this period.

During the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161) the fort was again rebuilt, this time from brick and natural stone. However, by 200, the river had become silted-up and Fectio was no longer accessible by water. The military settlement was destroyed in 275 and not reoccupied.

Cast of the tombstone of Gaius Julius Bio. Museum für antike Schifffahrt, Mainz.

Several funeral monuments from Fectio survive. The tombstone of Gaius Julius Bio is now in the Centraal Museum in nearby Utrecht.

Iovi Optimo Maximo Votum
Solvit Libens Merito
Gaius IVLIVS BIO
TRIERARCHVS (more...)

"To Jupiter, the best and greatest: Gaius Julius Bio, the captain, has paid his vow, willingly and deservedly."

Another very interesting discovery was the tombstone of a slave girl named Fledimella. Remarkable is the inscription, which mentions the shrine of a goddess named Viradecdis, who was venerated by Tungrians at Fectio. She was probably a Tungrian deity, because a similar shrine, dedicated by Tungrians to Viratetis, is known from Hadrian's wall.

Tombstone of Marcus Julius, from Vechten. Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden.

The tombstone of Marcus Julius, son of Marcus, of the Fifth legion Alaudae can easily be dated, because this unit did not survive the Batavian revolt in 69/70. Of course, Marcus Julius is nothing more than a name to us, but he may have belonged to the soldiers who suppressed the Frisian revolt in 28 or the campaign of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in 47.

Valens, the son of Bititrali, served in Fectio during the second century and belonged to a unit that was called the First Thracian Cavalry. His tombstone shows the deceased with two servants, suggesting that he was a wealthy man.

Most finds are now in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. One of the most remarkable ones is a pen; it is hollow and has small ink reservoir inside, so it is actually an ancient fountain pen!

Tombstone of Valens, son of Bititrali. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.

The site of ancient Fectio can be reached from the N411 main road, which connects Utrecht and Bunnik. At Vechten village, you have to go south, pass the tunnel underneath the A12 motorway, and immediately turn to the right. This little lane, full of curves, is called Marsdijk. You will see the nineteenth-century fort on your right hand. When you see the reconstructed Roman watch tower (seen here from the air), you can recognize the ancient military settlement as a very, very low hill to the west of its successor.

The Fectio watchtower was built in 2004 to remind visitors that Vechten once was an important military settlement. These towers were situated on the southern bank of the Rhine; several have been identified west of Utrecht, at Utrecht-Leidse Rijn (formerly known as Vleuten). Similar constructions have been excavated int Germany (e.g., Rainau).


The site of Fectio, seen from the east.	The site of Fectio, seen from the south.	A fibula. Allard Piersonmuseum, Amsterdam

Dagger and scabbard. Centraal Museum, Utrecht.	An ancient fountain pen. Centraal Museum, Utrecht.	Graffito of a warship (a liburne) from Vechten. Archeologisch & Bouwhistorisch Centrum, Utrecht

Modern reconstuction of an ancient Roman watch tower, Vechten. Photo Jona Lendering.

The watchtower of Vechten was erected out of wood and has three levels. The upper level probably served as armory; from the balcony, fire and smoke signals could be given to nearby forts (e.g., Traiectum in the northwest or Levefanum in the southeast). The middle level was used as a sleeping room and contained the entrance; and downstairs was a cellar. A model that shows the interior can be seen here (scroll down).

Literature

Wilfried Hessing e.a., Romeinen langs de snelweg. Bouwstenen voor Vechtens verleden (1997 Abcoude)
Robert Vermaat, Roman 'turris' at Fort Vechten