1 - A rare category of artefacts

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The subject of this book are bronze and terracotta statuettes that represent deities, human figures and animals. They were introduced in the northwestern provinces by Roman troops from the end of the 1st century BCE onwards. The statuettes have been recovered from military and non-military settlements, the surrounding landscape and, to a lesser extent, from sanctuaries and graves. The first chapter deals with the objective and approach of this study, followed by a description of the dataset and the research area, the definitions of terms and the structure of the complete text. This introduction comprises a summary of how the study area became politically divided in the 1st century.

The first Roman troops arrived between 19 and 16 BCE in the easternmost part of the region nowadays known as the Netherlands. They built the first military base on the Hunerberg at Nijmegen. Later, other military camps would follow. When Drusus led his army through Frisian territory in 12 BCE, he did not meet with any resistance and placed a moderate tax on the Frisii in the form of cow-hides. In 28, the first documented fight in the area took place when the Frisii revolted against the Roman prefect Olennius. According to Tacitus, Olennius demanded larger hides, the size of the much larger aurochs or their equivalent in domestic cow-hides. The Frisii could not meet his demands and handed in their herds and their land, and sent their wives and children into slavery. Since the Romans remained deaf to their complaints, the Frisii sought remedy in war. They hanged the soldiers who came to collect the taxes and Olennius fled to a nearby fort, which Tacitus calls Flevum. When the provincial governor, Lucius Apronius, arrived at the fort with his troops, the Frisian insurgents who had besieged it had already left to protect their own possessions. Apronius ordered his men to go after the enemy and a battle followed. The Romans were defeated and suffered great losses, but for some reason did not seek revenge.