Archaeologists have uncovered the largest known Roman bath complex ever discovered in the Netherlands, shedding new light on the prosperity and longevity of Roman occupation in the ancient city of Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum, modern-day Nijmegen.
The excavation, carried out in Nijmegen’s Waalfront district ahead of planned residential development, revealed an extensive complex covering at least 4,900 square metres. Researchers say the baths are more than twice the size of comparable Roman bathhouses previously excavated in Voorburg and Heerlen.
Although parts of the bath complex were identified in 1992, recent investigations have revealed the full scale of the site. Apart from the baths, archaeological work unearthed residential buildings, streets, a tower and thousands of artefacts dating back nearly two millennia.
Nijmegen was granted city rights by Emperor Trajan around AD 100 and developed into a town centre of massive public buildings of the natural stone style. The newly discovered baths are therefore an important element of the city’s wealth and status during the Roman period.
The artefacts recovered include jewellery, seal rings, coins, fragments of bronze statues, bone dice and hundreds of bone hairpins. One of the most interesting finds is a bronze bust of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine.
The remains also demonstrate the high quality of Roman engineering and construction. Archaeologists found marble-lined pool walls, floors paved with black-and-white limestone tiles, drainage systems, and sections of a hypocaust — the sophisticated underfloor and wall-heating technology used throughout the Roman Empire. Two stone foundation structures survive to a height of approximately two metres.
The discovery is also reshaping historians’ understanding of Roman Nijmegen. Evidence from the coin assemblage, including numerous coins issued during the reign of Emperor Postumus in the third century AD, suggests this part of the city remained occupied longer than previously believed.
Although a new residential district is scheduled to be built on the site in the coming years, local authorities and researchers have announced plans to preserve portions of the archaeological remains, allowing them to remain visible within future developments.
The find represents one of the most significant Roman archaeological discoveries in the Netherlands in recent decades and provides valuable insight into urban life on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
Header Image Credit : Jeroen Jumelet
Sources : PAP
