Archaeologists have made important finds under the former Nutriciafabriek in Cuijk. Not only have clear traces of medieval houses been discovered, but also remains of a temporary Roman army camp. As a result, it is now clear that the Romans were there earlier than so far.
In Cuijk the news does not really come as a surprise. Wherever you open the ground, you almost always come across history. The soil here is a layered book full of stories from Romans to knights.
“It’s no more than a ditch,” says municipal archaeologist Johan van Kampen, pointing to a discoloration in the ground. “But the form and location strongly indicate an early Roman army camp. That would mean that the Romans were in Cuijk before the year 50 AD.”
And that is special. Until now it was assumed that the first Roman fort in Cuijk, then Ceuclum, was only built around the year 50.
Then it grew into an important Roman location with a castellum, temples, a bathhouse and a bridge over the Maas. The discovery of an earlier camp points to an earlier military presence, probably during the expansion of the northern border of the Roman Empire.
The excavations take place on the site where the Nutriciafabriek stood for years. Now that it has been demolished for house construction, archaeologists get the chance to unravel the history of Cuijk layer by layer.
But the Romans are not the only historic inhabitants who come to light. Clear remains of medieval habitation have also been found in one of the excavation slots. “You see places where wooden posts have been,” says Johan. “We can find the contours of houses in this way. Depending on what else we find, we hope to know more about the residents. How rich were they?”
Cuijk has always been a hotspot Been for archaeologists. It is located along the Maas, in a strategic place that has been disputed by all kinds of rulers over the centuries. Wherever you dig: you go low by low through history.
Such as the history of the lords of Cuijk. They get the area on loan in 1096 and often play a role in the wars between the Duke Dommen Brabant and Gelre. But it is also diplomats who can regularly be found on the courts of the English king and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. “These were really important nobles,” says Johan.
But it also goes wrong. One of the blackest pages is written in the year 1133. In that year Herman van Cuijk, together with his brother Godfried, gets involved in a conflict with Dirk VI, Count of Holland.
The fight revolves around a marriage. It gets out of hand when a political murder is committed at Utrecht. Floris de Zwarte, Dirk’s brother, is killed. According to the sources, Herman and Godfried are directly involved.
The consequences are great. The anger in Holland and the German Empire is huge. The German emperor, an ally of De Graaf, decides to intervene. The land of Cuijk is invaded as a punishment.
“There are not often excavations in a center.”
Villages have a hard time, but the biggest blow falls in Cuijk itself. The castle of the lords of Cuijk is destroyed and the gentlemen are banned. They return years later and build a new castle in Grave.
The place where the excavations are now is not far from the church where the castle used to be. “There are not often excavations in a center,” says the archaeologist. “The cities from the Middle Ages are now all built on. So that we can dig here now is special.”
But the biggest hit still has to come. On the other side of the road is a site where a complete Roman cemetery is expected. “We think we will find between 200 and 400 graves there,” says Johan. “People were then buried with personal items. That often produces spectacular finds.”
