Observing and studying the Roman Barrows in the Spanish Netherlands (ca. 1500-1675)
(2016) Sixteenth Century Conference — Location: Bruges (18.August.2016)
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- Abstract
- Even nowadays, the landscape of some Belgian regions is deeply marked by the presence of dozens of roman barrows. These mounds have survived the passage of time and shaped the landscape, from antiquity down to the present-day. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a period characterised by the rediscovery of classical antiquity, travellers and scholars have often seen afresh these remains that have come down through the ages from antiquity to their own time. My paper deals with the reception of these roman barrows in the Spanish Netherlands, from the first archaeological excavation of a tumulus (1507) to the first mentions of these mounds on some French maps (ca. 1674). It focuses on the descriptions of these tumuli (Abraham Ortelius, 1575; Philippe de Hurges, 1615) and on the development of the first archaeological digs (1507, 1621, 1641 and 1654). These early modern excavations gradually transformed the perception of these ancient remains: the proto-archaeological observations arose and constituted a new approach of these vestiges, which coexisted with the medieval traditions. The paper is also devoted to the “reuse” of these barrows as landmarks and to their impact on the local landscape.
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Latteur, O. (2016). Observing and studying the Roman Barrows in the Spanish Netherlands (ca. 1500-1675). Sixteenth Century Conference, Bruges. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/184769