- Universiteit Gent - Vakgroep Archeologie
Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35 - Ufo
B-9000 Gent
- Archeology, Rotary querns and millstones, Rotary Querns, Trade in Whetstones, Quernstones and Soapstone, Saddle Querns, Archaeology, and 10 moreMaxence Pieters, Roman Archaeology, Ground Stone Technology, Millstone Industry, Ancient Quarrying, Gallo-roman archaeology, Late Iron Age (Archaeology), Roman Provincial Archaeology, Roman Gaul, and Roman rural settlementsedit
- Romancing the stone. On the provenance, use and socio economics of stone artefacts in a stone-less landscape The ... moreRomancing the stone. On the provenance, use and socio economics of stone artefacts in a stone-less landscape
The research project puts a focus on stone artefacts (millstones, hone stones, etc.) traded, used and discarded in the northern parts of the Roman ‘Civitas Menapiorum’. This region is formed by the current Belgian provinces of East- and West-Flanders together with the Dutch province of Zeeland and is geologically characterized by the quasi absence of natural stone outcrops, suitable for use in domestic context. Yet stone was used in every-day activities such as grinding and whetting, which implies it was imported as a finished or half-finished product from regions outside the civitas. The study therefore aims to investigate the provenance, the product supplies/distribution networks, but also the use of the stone artefacts within a spatial, technological, typological and chronological framework. Studying these artefacts will provide further insight into the socio-economic processes of these local ‘Gallo-Roman’ communities and their networks with the wider context of the northern parts of the Empire. The multidisciplinary approach will combine classic context-based typo-chronological study with archaeometrical analyses (petrography, chemical analysis).edit
We discuss the ritual deposition of whetstones on native-type farmsteads in the northern-most parts of the Gallo-Roman Province of Gallia Belgica. The phenomenon occurs mainly in the lower river Scheldt valley (Belgian East and West... more
We discuss the ritual deposition of whetstones on native-type farmsteads in the northern-most parts of the Gallo-Roman Province of Gallia Belgica. The phenomenon occurs mainly in the lower river Scheldt valley (Belgian East and West Flanders and the southwestern Netherlands), where these whetstones, as well as other objects, are most often found in the domestic environment of timber-framed stable-houses. We show that the stone tools were buried deliberately in a specific structural component of the house, and that there was no intention of reclaiming them afterwards. By burying these whetstones, native Gallo-Roman-period farmers removed them from their primary, functional use, but at the same time initiated a new trajectory in their cultural biography. They received a ritual, apotropaic function in the course of the domestic life cycle of the house and its inhabitants, connected to the seasonal rhythm of the annual harvest cycle. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of structured (building) deposits in archaeology and, more generally speaking, to the various aspects of the cultural biography of houses.
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An excavation in Vrasene (East-Flanders, Belgium) yielded a singular dolium deposit find. This Roman storage vessel was buried near a 2nd century farmstead of which the construction is placed between AD20-140 by radiocarbon dating. The... more
An excavation in Vrasene (East-Flanders, Belgium) yielded a singular dolium deposit find. This Roman storage vessel was buried near a 2nd century farmstead of which the construction is placed between AD20-140 by radiocarbon dating. The dolium vessel was covered with a quern stone, its base removed, and a tegula (Roman ceramic tile) placed in its interior.
First, Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used after the extraction of the organic content from a sherd to check if the dolium ever contained actual foodstuffs. Several generic compounds were identified, providing evidence that this vessel used to contain foodstuffs of either animal or vegetal origins. Additionally, several specific biomarkers hint to the presence of dairy products.
Second, compositional analyses by XRF and thin section petrography characterize the fabric as iron- and calciumrich clay with grog-temper, very likely to be indigenous to the southern Low Countries. There are at least three different compositional signals for the grog inclusions which also differ from the dolium's matrix.
Third, the quern stone is identified as a vesicular basaltic lava with a very likely provenance in the Vulkaneifel region in Germany. This dolium-quern-tegula deposition might have a ritual component, but no comparable assemblage is known from the northern parts of the Roman Empire.
Finally, these results of this small case study have no precedent in any known dolium-study, providing new questions for a Roman material category that receives little attention.
First, Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was used after the extraction of the organic content from a sherd to check if the dolium ever contained actual foodstuffs. Several generic compounds were identified, providing evidence that this vessel used to contain foodstuffs of either animal or vegetal origins. Additionally, several specific biomarkers hint to the presence of dairy products.
Second, compositional analyses by XRF and thin section petrography characterize the fabric as iron- and calciumrich clay with grog-temper, very likely to be indigenous to the southern Low Countries. There are at least three different compositional signals for the grog inclusions which also differ from the dolium's matrix.
Third, the quern stone is identified as a vesicular basaltic lava with a very likely provenance in the Vulkaneifel region in Germany. This dolium-quern-tegula deposition might have a ritual component, but no comparable assemblage is known from the northern parts of the Roman Empire.
Finally, these results of this small case study have no precedent in any known dolium-study, providing new questions for a Roman material category that receives little attention.
Research Interests: Classical Archaeology, Material Culture Studies, Archaeological Science, Archaeometry, Ceramic Analysis (Archaeology), and 16 moreX-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectroscopy, Roman Empire, Ceramics (Archaeology), Residue and Use-Wear Analysis, Roman Gaul, portable XRF (PXRF) in Archaeology and Museum Science, Gallo-roman archaeology, Roman ceramics, Archeologie, Rotary querns and millstones, Dolia, Céramique Gallo-Romaine, Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Roman Archaeology, Archéologie gallo-romaine, and Gallo-Romeinse archeologie
ABSTRACT. For some years, a French-Belgian team of archaeologists and geologists is investigating the provenance of ancient quern-stones and millstones. Their study revealed the frequent occurrence of particular coarse sandstones derived... more
ABSTRACT.
For some years, a French-Belgian team of archaeologists and geologists is investigating the provenance of ancient quern-stones and millstones. Their study revealed the frequent occurrence of particular coarse sandstones derived from Lower Devonian strata in the Ardenne region, known as either the “Arkose of Haybes” by geologists or the “Arkose of Macquenoise” by archaeologists.
Material for Late Iron Age and Roman quern-stones and millstones was quarried from open pits located west of the border between France and Belgium, between the Belgian village of Macquenoise (Commune of Momignies, Province of Hainaut) and the French town of Hirson (Aisne Department, Hauts-de-France region). This paper describes the raw materials, presents the different types of grindstones produced through historical times and provides a detailed diffusion map of the millstones.
KEYWORDS: arkose, Lochkovian, milling stone, Gallo-Roman quarry, distribution area, geoheritage.
RÉSUMÉ. Le Grès de Macquenoise, une ressource naturelle du Lochkovien (Dévonien) adaptée à la réalisation de meules à grains : carrières, propriétés du matériau, fabrication et diffusion des meules (Belgique – France).
Depuis quelques années, une équipe franco-belge d’archéologues et de géologues travaille sur la caractérisation des roches meulières. Notre étude a révélé l’utilisation fréquente de grès grossiers dévoniens originaires du Massif des Ardennes pour la fabrication de meules rotatives antiques.
Ces grès sont connus sous l’appellation d’“Arkose d’Haybes” par les géologues et d’“Arkose de Macquenoise” par les archéologues.
Depuis la Protohistoire et jusqu’à la fin de la période romaine, des meules ont été extraites de carrières à ciel ouvert situées à l’ouest de la frontière franco-belge, entre le village belge de Macquenoise (Momignies, Province de Hainaut) et la ville française d’Hirson (Département de l’Aisne, Région des Hauts-de-France). Le but de cet article est de présenter les grès lochkoviens exploités à cet endroit, ainsi que les meules à grains produites à l’époque gallo-romaine dans les différentes carrières de ce district meulier. Ces productions étant désormais bien identifiées et reconnues en de nombreux sites archéologiques de France et de Belgique, il est possible de proposer une carte précise de la diffusion de ces meules en “Grès de Macquenoise”.
MOTS-CLÉS: arkose, Lochkovien, meule, carrière gallo-romaine, aire de diffusion, patrimoine géologique.
For some years, a French-Belgian team of archaeologists and geologists is investigating the provenance of ancient quern-stones and millstones. Their study revealed the frequent occurrence of particular coarse sandstones derived from Lower Devonian strata in the Ardenne region, known as either the “Arkose of Haybes” by geologists or the “Arkose of Macquenoise” by archaeologists.
Material for Late Iron Age and Roman quern-stones and millstones was quarried from open pits located west of the border between France and Belgium, between the Belgian village of Macquenoise (Commune of Momignies, Province of Hainaut) and the French town of Hirson (Aisne Department, Hauts-de-France region). This paper describes the raw materials, presents the different types of grindstones produced through historical times and provides a detailed diffusion map of the millstones.
KEYWORDS: arkose, Lochkovian, milling stone, Gallo-Roman quarry, distribution area, geoheritage.
RÉSUMÉ. Le Grès de Macquenoise, une ressource naturelle du Lochkovien (Dévonien) adaptée à la réalisation de meules à grains : carrières, propriétés du matériau, fabrication et diffusion des meules (Belgique – France).
Depuis quelques années, une équipe franco-belge d’archéologues et de géologues travaille sur la caractérisation des roches meulières. Notre étude a révélé l’utilisation fréquente de grès grossiers dévoniens originaires du Massif des Ardennes pour la fabrication de meules rotatives antiques.
Ces grès sont connus sous l’appellation d’“Arkose d’Haybes” par les géologues et d’“Arkose de Macquenoise” par les archéologues.
Depuis la Protohistoire et jusqu’à la fin de la période romaine, des meules ont été extraites de carrières à ciel ouvert situées à l’ouest de la frontière franco-belge, entre le village belge de Macquenoise (Momignies, Province de Hainaut) et la ville française d’Hirson (Département de l’Aisne, Région des Hauts-de-France). Le but de cet article est de présenter les grès lochkoviens exploités à cet endroit, ainsi que les meules à grains produites à l’époque gallo-romaine dans les différentes carrières de ce district meulier. Ces productions étant désormais bien identifiées et reconnues en de nombreux sites archéologiques de France et de Belgique, il est possible de proposer une carte précise de la diffusion de ces meules en “Grès de Macquenoise”.
MOTS-CLÉS: arkose, Lochkovien, meule, carrière gallo-romaine, aire de diffusion, patrimoine géologique.
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From the 3rd of April 2006 to the 26th of June 2007 the Flemish Heritage Institute (now: Flanders Heritage Agency) conducted archaeological research at the future industrial park Menen-Oost-Uitbreiding. The research has yielded mainly... more
From the 3rd of April 2006 to the 26th of June 2007 the Flemish Heritage Institute (now: Flanders Heritage Agency) conducted archaeological research at the future industrial park Menen-Oost-Uitbreiding. The research has yielded mainly structures of a small Gallo-Roman rural settlement with two farms and a cemetery, embedded in a field system of enclosures. The settlement was installed next to a Roman road that made connection with the main road following the Lys, 1.5 km to the south of the site. Another favourable factor for the development of the settlement was its setting on an elevated ridge. Perpendicular and parallel to the drainage ditches of the Roman road a range of ditches, serving as property borders of the farms of the settlement, were dug out. The heart of the settlement was formed by the southern enclosure. This slightly trapezoidal shaped enclosure was surrounded by double boundary ditches and divided into two unequal parts. Such plans with the same dimensions and internal divisions are also known in the Villeneuve d’Ascq sites of La Haute Borne and Au Chemin Perdu (near Lille, France). Once the residential enclosures were set up, the surrounding landscape was further structured with boundary ditches. Already during the first phase of the settlement, which according to the pottery dates at least from the middle of the 1st century AD, the final lay-out was determined. The course of the boundary ditches would be without significant changes until the end of the occupation at the end of the 3rd century AD. Unlike most other rural Roman settlements in the region, the settlement at Menen had no precursor during the Iron Age. This kind of occupation and the structural location of the settlement in the landscape resemble those in other neighbouring regions, such as in the region of Lille (e.g. Villeneuve d’Ascq-La Haute Borne) and the region of Ghent (Kluizendok Project) which showed that in Roman times, large parts of the landscape were divided by field systems and enclosures in large spatial units and that the residential areas only occupied limited areas within those units.
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This paper discusses millstone and quern depositions in the Civitas Menapiorum situated at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire
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This paper presents the phenomenon of whetstone depositions in the northern parts of the Civitas Menapiorum (now Belgian Flanders and the south-western Netherlands)
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Accompagnant une dynamique européenne forte, une équipe franco-belge de géologues et d’archéologues étudie de manière approfondie les meules rotatives anciennes découvertes entre la Seine et le Rhin. Le développement récent de... more
Accompagnant une dynamique européenne forte, une équipe franco-belge de géologues et d’archéologues étudie de manière approfondie les meules rotatives anciennes découvertes entre la Seine et le Rhin. Le développement récent de l’archéologie préventive permet de les analyser au sein de leur position stratigraphique sur les sites de consommation, promettant de riches résultats en matière d’organisation économique des sociétés. Sur le plan pétrographique, la discrimination des faciès de roches meulières par les géologues du groupe permet la reconnaissance de leur origine géologique et géographique. Le recensement d’observations historiques et archéologiques plus ou moins anciennes fournit également des indices pour retrouver les carrières d’extraction des meules.
La cartographie de ces points d’origine d’une part et des sites de consommation d’autre part nous offre aujourd’hui une bonne appréhension de leurs circuits de diffusion et permet de rechercher les facteurs qui régissent cette distribution au cours du temps.
Entre le Bassin parisien qui fournit en abondance calcaires, grès et meulières, et le massif de l’Eifel dont les roches volcaniques sont largement exploitées au cours de l’Histoire, l’Ardenne constitue un immense réservoir de matières premières minérales bien connues des populations occupant le nord de la France et la Belgique de la Protohistoire au haut Moyen Âge. Les grès et conglomérats dévoniens sont sans conteste les plus exploités pour la taille de meules dont plusieurs sites d’extraction sont connus :
- Autour du massif de Rocroi, le secteur d’Hirson/Macquenoise (Aisne/Hainaut) situé à cheval sur la frontière franco-belge, montre d’importants stigmates d’exploitations anciennes. Le grès grossier lochkovien (Dévonien inférieur) dit « de Macquenoise » y a été extrait dès la Protohistoire, puis de façon massive durant toute la période romaine. D’autres sites d’extraction sont supposés le long de l’affleurement et ont pu fournir les meules que l’on recense dès le Néolithique moyen dans le nord de la France. Ces gisements restent cependant à prospecter dans les environs de Haybes/Fépin (Ardennes, France) et Hargnies/Willerzie (Ardennes/Prov. de Namur, France/Belgique).
- Dans les bois qui jouxtent la Meuse en amont de Namur (Belgique), plusieurs sites ont livré des ébauches de meules taillées dans une roche conglomératique de couleur « lie-de-vin » appelée « Poudingue de Burnot » (Emsien/Eifelien, Dévonien inférieur/moyen). Ici aussi, une exploitation protohistorique est attestée et la diffusion des meules rotatives est réellement observée de la fin de la période gauloise au début de l’époque romaine. Cependant, l’affleurement Emsien/Eifelien est extrêmement étendu le long du versant septentrional de l’Ardenne et traverse toute la Belgique d’est en ouest. Il est très probable que d’autres carrières ne soient pas encore identifiées sur ces niveaux.
- À l’est autour du massif de Stavelot enfin, entre Baraque de Fraiture et Recht (Provinces de Luxembourg et de Liège, Belgique), les niveaux lochkoviens affleurent de nouveau et ont été exploités pour la taille de meules. Ici aussi des ébauches de meules « va-et-vient » témoignent d’une exploitation protohistorique, puis la carte de diffusion des meules rotatives semble aller dans le sens d’un abandon des carrières à l’époque romaine. Il faut attendre la période mérovingienne pour retrouver des meules originaires de ce secteur qui livre aussi un grand nombre de ratés de fabrication médiévaux.
La cartographie de ces points d’origine d’une part et des sites de consommation d’autre part nous offre aujourd’hui une bonne appréhension de leurs circuits de diffusion et permet de rechercher les facteurs qui régissent cette distribution au cours du temps.
Entre le Bassin parisien qui fournit en abondance calcaires, grès et meulières, et le massif de l’Eifel dont les roches volcaniques sont largement exploitées au cours de l’Histoire, l’Ardenne constitue un immense réservoir de matières premières minérales bien connues des populations occupant le nord de la France et la Belgique de la Protohistoire au haut Moyen Âge. Les grès et conglomérats dévoniens sont sans conteste les plus exploités pour la taille de meules dont plusieurs sites d’extraction sont connus :
- Autour du massif de Rocroi, le secteur d’Hirson/Macquenoise (Aisne/Hainaut) situé à cheval sur la frontière franco-belge, montre d’importants stigmates d’exploitations anciennes. Le grès grossier lochkovien (Dévonien inférieur) dit « de Macquenoise » y a été extrait dès la Protohistoire, puis de façon massive durant toute la période romaine. D’autres sites d’extraction sont supposés le long de l’affleurement et ont pu fournir les meules que l’on recense dès le Néolithique moyen dans le nord de la France. Ces gisements restent cependant à prospecter dans les environs de Haybes/Fépin (Ardennes, France) et Hargnies/Willerzie (Ardennes/Prov. de Namur, France/Belgique).
- Dans les bois qui jouxtent la Meuse en amont de Namur (Belgique), plusieurs sites ont livré des ébauches de meules taillées dans une roche conglomératique de couleur « lie-de-vin » appelée « Poudingue de Burnot » (Emsien/Eifelien, Dévonien inférieur/moyen). Ici aussi, une exploitation protohistorique est attestée et la diffusion des meules rotatives est réellement observée de la fin de la période gauloise au début de l’époque romaine. Cependant, l’affleurement Emsien/Eifelien est extrêmement étendu le long du versant septentrional de l’Ardenne et traverse toute la Belgique d’est en ouest. Il est très probable que d’autres carrières ne soient pas encore identifiées sur ces niveaux.
- À l’est autour du massif de Stavelot enfin, entre Baraque de Fraiture et Recht (Provinces de Luxembourg et de Liège, Belgique), les niveaux lochkoviens affleurent de nouveau et ont été exploités pour la taille de meules. Ici aussi des ébauches de meules « va-et-vient » témoignent d’une exploitation protohistorique, puis la carte de diffusion des meules rotatives semble aller dans le sens d’un abandon des carrières à l’époque romaine. Il faut attendre la période mérovingienne pour retrouver des meules originaires de ce secteur qui livre aussi un grand nombre de ratés de fabrication médiévaux.
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As a sequel to the first overview of millstone manufacturing in northern Gaul and Germany, (presented in Haifa in 2015; RENIERE et al. 2016) the present study focuses on the area located between two major river basins (Seine and Rhine),... more
As a sequel to the first overview of millstone manufacturing in northern Gaul and Germany, (presented in Haifa in 2015; RENIERE et al. 2016) the present study focuses on the area located between two major river basins (Seine and Rhine), allowing the transport of huge quantities of querns and millstones along their watersheds. In the central part of this area, (more precisely located north-west of the Ardennes hills), the Gallo-Roman territories of the Menapians, Atrebates, Nervians and partially those of the Tungri, were supplied with querns and millstones made of a coarse grey to beige sandstone, originating from lochkovian strata in the Ardennes massif. These essentially food transformation tools come from a production center located between Hirson (Aisne, France) and Macquenoise (Hainaut, Belgium), the activity of which was prodigious during the whole Roman period. The Macquenoise workshops are not linked to any navigable watercourse, but they are situated near a specific geological outcrop that was selected both for the quality of the rock and for its vicinity to the major road Bavay – Reims (France). Nevertheless, the distribution of the querns is clearly directed to the north and does not reach the big capital of Reims/Durocortorum before the Late Roman period (3rd century). This non-concentric picture allows us to approach the great principles of the distribution of a secondary millstone rock and in general of heavy lithic goods.
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Since a few years a French-Belgian team of archeologists and geologists work on the characterization of ancient quern stones and millstones (mainly from the Antique period) linked with the identification of their stratigraphical and... more
Since a few years a French-Belgian team of archeologists and geologists work on the characterization of ancient quern stones and millstones (mainly from the Antique period) linked with the identification of their stratigraphical and geographical provenances.
This fruitful collaboration aims at reconstructing the ancient commercial roads and economic organization of territories during that period.
In addition to the better-known volcanic rocks from the Eifel area, our study revealed the frequent occurrence of particular Devonian conglomerates and sandstones from the Ardenne area, as raw materials for the manufacturing of querns and millstones. The latter sandstones as well as the related antique millstone quarries, form an important and until now undervalued geological and cultural heritage in Belgium.
Near the Ardenne border between France and Belgium, the earliest Devonian (Lochkovian) sediments deposited on the Caledonian substrate are conglomerates, which are interpreted as continental alluvial fans. The first marine sediments are littoral sandstones/quartzites or shales/slates. A sandstone formation, formally defined as the “Arkose d’Haybes” is closely linked to the former Lochkovian conglomerates (called also the “Poudingue de Fépin”). The outcrops of this particular formation around the reference localities of Haybes, Fépin and Hargnies (Ardennes, France), show a partly recrystallized, well-sorted grey to greenish sandstone (turbidite facies) with wine-red coloured joints. Another important area displaying old quarries in the same formation is located between Hirson (Aisne, France) and Macquenoise (Hainaut, Belgium): here, a more homogenous grey coarse sandstone facies occurs, with a better consistency and small amounts of dark green tourmaline crystals.
This fruitful collaboration aims at reconstructing the ancient commercial roads and economic organization of territories during that period.
In addition to the better-known volcanic rocks from the Eifel area, our study revealed the frequent occurrence of particular Devonian conglomerates and sandstones from the Ardenne area, as raw materials for the manufacturing of querns and millstones. The latter sandstones as well as the related antique millstone quarries, form an important and until now undervalued geological and cultural heritage in Belgium.
Near the Ardenne border between France and Belgium, the earliest Devonian (Lochkovian) sediments deposited on the Caledonian substrate are conglomerates, which are interpreted as continental alluvial fans. The first marine sediments are littoral sandstones/quartzites or shales/slates. A sandstone formation, formally defined as the “Arkose d’Haybes” is closely linked to the former Lochkovian conglomerates (called also the “Poudingue de Fépin”). The outcrops of this particular formation around the reference localities of Haybes, Fépin and Hargnies (Ardennes, France), show a partly recrystallized, well-sorted grey to greenish sandstone (turbidite facies) with wine-red coloured joints. Another important area displaying old quarries in the same formation is located between Hirson (Aisne, France) and Macquenoise (Hainaut, Belgium): here, a more homogenous grey coarse sandstone facies occurs, with a better consistency and small amounts of dark green tourmaline crystals.