Roman Villa of Hoogeloon and the Archaeology of the Periphery

How did the Roman villa complex of Hoogeloon develop in the relatively poor and peripheral hinterland of the Lower Rhine? In this volume, leading specialists in the field offer a multidimensional perspective on the social dynamics that led to the villa’s creation, including the central role played by military and urban networks and native social structures. The essays here examine everything from town and country relations and monetization to the agrarian economy of the region and the ethnic identity of the inhabitants. Shining new light on this key site and the integration of marginal areas in the Roman Empire, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in a comparative analysis of the Roman countryside. Contributors: Joris Aarts, Wim de Clercq, Guido Creemers, Ton Derks, Maaike Groot, Diederick Habermehl, Stijn Heeren, Henk Hiddink, Laura Kooistra, Fabienne Pigière, Nico Roymans, Alain Vanderhoeven, Julie van Kerckhove

"This is a significant volume, the importance of which goes beyond the intricacies of this individual site. It provides absorbing subject matter for readers interested in the Roman countryside, the rural economy and the incorporation of the provinces (particularly, more ‘marginal’ areas) into the Roman Empire. It does not offer a blueprint for such integration; indeed, the lesson of this project is that such integration could be highly localised. It does, however, demonstrate the diversity of ways hidden in the archaeological record“some perhaps as yet unimagined“of being Roman." - Elizabeth Blanning, Antiquity "Never before have Dutch archaeologists been able to paint such a complete picture of a rural settlement from Roman times as now in The Roman Villa of Hoogeloon" -Meindert van der Kaaij, Trouw

Nico Roymans is professor of West European archaeology at the VU University in Amsterdam. Ton Derks is assistant professor of Roman archaeology at the VU University in Amsterdam. Henk Hiddink is assistant professor of Roman archeology at VU University in Amsterdam.