Writing Equipment and Latin Literacy in the Netherlands*: An Archaeological Perspective (2024)

Jasper de Bruin

9.1 Introduction

This volume is contributing to the long-running debate on the distribution and degree of Latin literacy in the provinces of the Roman Empire. The current state of affairs is that it can be assumed that literacy was not reserved just for a small elite upper class, but that people from ‘less privileged sections’ of the population of the Roman provinces could also belong to the literate community.1 One way to test this hypothesis is to identify and map archaeological objects associated with writing in research areas that comprise both elite and less or even non-elite sites, and where a great deal of the archaeological data are available.

This type of research area can be found in the Netherlands, an area that is known for its lack of monumental inscriptions on stone or metal—for example, in the civitas of the Batavi (Fig. 9.1). Here, research has been focusing on identifying (literate) veterans of the Roman army within non-elite, rural communities by means of archaeological objects, such as seal boxes and stylus tablets, among other small finds.2 However, there is convincing evidence that seal boxes were mostly used for sealing bags of money or other small valuables,3 instead of sealing wooden writing tablets, as was previously suggested,4 and therefore cannot be considered as direct evidence for Latin literacy in the rural countryside.5 Yet, the handling of these money bags might have involved some kind of administration, suggesting that ‘the accounting and the numeracy involved can be seen as part of the wider context of literacy’.6 And we know that letters were sent from and to distant family and friends across the Empire, and we have specific evidence of this from military contexts. Based on the ink tablets found at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in northern England, we know that civilians corresponded with the soldiers and at least some of the soldiers were able to write: some of the Vindolanda letters were drafts written by the soldiers themselves.7 Most tablets at Vindolanda were found in Periods 2 and 3, dated between 92 and 105; in these phases the garrison of the fort consisted of the Ninth Cohort of the Batavians.8 This suggests that correspondence took place between northern England and the Batavian area, if we accept that at least a part of this cohort was still composed of native Batavians.9 This correspondence would inevitably stimulate knowledge of Latin, possibly even among individual relatives in the Batavian rural area. It seems that the Roman army did indeed contribute in this way to the spreading of literacy to the countryside,10 but this, of course, does not exclude other mechanisms as well.11 So, although it can be assumed relatively safely that writing capabilities were present in the Batavian area, in fact no detailed research into writing equipment has been undertaken after the inventory of the seal boxes, making it difficult to back up this assumption with archaeological data.

Another area well suited for an in-depth analysis of writing utensils is the coastal area between the Lower Rhine and the river Meuse in the present-day province of South-Holland, the Netherlands. This is currently the most urbanized part of the Netherlands, and numerous developer-led excavations have taken place there since the late 1960s, yielding a considerable amount of information on all types of Roman-period settlements and material culture. Organic materials such as wood, leather, and archaeobotanical remains are quite well preserved, because of the high, anaerobic groundwater levels and layers of sediment. In the Roman period, this area was known as the civitas Cananefatium. For this chapter the occurrence of writing equipment in this region has been examined in more detail. Before the results of this inventory are presented, the region is briefly introduced.

9.2 Settlement and Communities in the civitas Cananefatium

The civitas Cananefatium was located on the most north-western, continental corner of the Roman Empire.12 Its boundaries were formed, clockwise from north to west, by the Lower Rhine River, a large peat area, the estuary of the Meuse River, and the North Sea (Fig. 9.2). Along the coast, high and dry sandy beach barriers and low dunes protected the clayey floodplains and the peat areas located further inland from direct influence of the sea. The floodplains were intersected by tidal inlets and creeks, that offered higher grounds because of the sedimentation of sandy clay. These grounds were suitable for habitation and agriculture. The tidal inlets and creeks also provided possibilities for transportation by boat. The area can be characterized as a large coastal wetland with few higher grounds, in contrast to the Batavian area, which consisted of more ‘dry land’ in clayey riverine and sandy Pleistocene landscapes.

During the final phase of the Late Iron Age, in the first century bce, the area became depopulated, possibly because of socio-political events.13 After this, almost no habitation was present in the area. Around 40 ce, a temporary legionary fortress and a series of Roman forts were built along the Lower Rhine.14 Initially designed to guard a vital supply route for the invasion of Britain,15 the line of forts developed, during the late first and early second century ce, into a Roman riverine frontier, as part of the so-called Lower German Limes. The first settlements of non-Roman, rural groups in the area were created around 40/50 ce along the Lower Rhine River itself, in the vicinity of the Roman forts. In the hinterland, most sites date from 70–100 ce. All settlements in the area are new creations, and the fact that they appear so suddenly suggests immigration on a considerable scale. Because the chain of forts along the Lower Rhine was already established, any immigration presumably took place under Roman military control. Based on the evidence of handmade pottery and brooches, the inhabitants of the rural settlements seem to have originated from different areas along the western and northern North Sea coast. Certain types of brooches, fragments of military equipment, and coins that were found in the rural settlements also suggest a (limited) connection with the Roman military. Through the influx of groups with a different origin, the population on the rural sites consisted of an amalgam of peoples. Yet, the settlement layout, the architecture of the buildings, and the material culture on these sites developed rather quickly to form a uniform set, suggesting a strong interconnected community. It seems that the rural groups embraced a new communal identity, which can be characterized as ‘Cananefatian’.

During the second half of the second century ce, the rural inhabitants appear to be increasingly integrated in the Roman provincial society. This process could have been accelerated by the promotion of the region’s central place Forum Hadriani, established in around 120 ce, to an official town: Municipium Aelium Cananefat(i)um, the capital of the Cananefates. The town itself can be regarded as one of the smallest in Germania Inferior, with intramural dimensions of only around 5.5 hectares.16 Based mainly on pottery assemblages, which are well comparable to those in surrounding regions in Germania Inferior, the rural population seems to be absorbed into a broader, supra-regional provincial group identity in the third century ce, while at the same time maintaining their rural, communal identity.17 The Cananefatian area as a whole is abandoned in the course of the first half of the fourth century ce, possibly because of a deliberate removal of the population by the Roman government.18

9.3 A Survey of Writing Equipment in the civitas Cananefatium

In the civitas Cananefatium roughly three main social groups or communities can be distinguished: the military, the rural communities, and the inhabitants of the town. Internally, these communities can be considered as rather heterogeneous. Nevertheless, this subdivision is a suitable way to investigate the archaeological evidence of writing materials for each of these communities. Anna Willi published an overview of objects that might be associated with writing.19 For the civitas Cananefatium, not every type of object is represented in the archaeological record. Also, some items, such as compasses or dividers and seal boxes, were deliberately left out of this inventory, because it remains unclear if these objects can be directly connected with writing capabilities.20 The occurrence of post cocturam graffiti on pottery comprising names (hereafter ‘name graffiti’) has also been included. Also, some other epigraphical evidence has been included, especially rural inscriptions and a group that has not been fully studied for the Netherlands: monumental inscriptions on bronze plaques.

9.3.1 The Military

The military sites are known for the regular presence of inscriptions on stone, such as building inscriptions on plaques and dedicatory inscriptions on altars.21 Also inscriptions on wood were present, indicated by the find in 2023 of a wooden tabula ansata at a military site along the Lower Rhine (Fig. 9.3).22 One of the forts also yielded a small fragment of a bronze tabula with a few letters, possibly an imperial decree.23 Also, there is ‘non-monumental’ evidence for literacy (Table 9.1), such as the numerous names incised or scratched on pottery. Names were also scratched or punched into other implements, such as utensils, parts of military equipment, and bronze tabulae ansatae.24 At one of the military sites, a lead curse tablet was found, naming at least twenty people.25 In addition, styli, wooden stylus tablets, inkwells (of both terra sigillata and bronze), and penknifes occur on a regular basis. It seems that the ability to write was widespread in the military communities. The regular occurrence of styli and wooden stylus tablets points to the importance of an up-to-date administration for the military authorities, because the wooden tablets were probably legal documents, orders of some kind, or other official documents (such as wills, loans, and money transfers).26 The inkwells and penknives indicate also that writing in ink did occur quite frequently. Nevertheless, besides a sherd with an inscription in ink (Fig. 9.4), no wooden ink tablets have so far been found, despite favourable conservation circumstances.

9.3.2 The Town

In contrast to the great numbers of pieces of writing equipment from the military contexts, the numbers from the Roman town are considerably smaller.27 This is all the more noticeable since in 2008 a large part of the well-preserved port of the town was excavated. The complete absence of (fragments of) wooden writing tablets from this context is remarkable, as these regularly occur in the military settlements, and the harbour yielded considerable numbers of other wooden objects. Also, only one stylus, one terra sigillata inkwell, and the handles of two spatulae were found in the port.28 In addition, name graffiti on pottery are rather rare,29 certainly compared to the Roman town in Nijmegen, the capital of the Batavi.30 These observations led to the conclusion that ‘a high degree of literacy was not widespread’ in Forum Hadriani.31

However, this statement needs some reconsideration. First, the above-mentioned terra sigillata inkwell contained remains of iron gall ink,32 a clear indication of the actual use of the inkwell for writing. Secondly, the earlier assessment of the level of literacy in the town did not integrate finds from earlier excavations, which include another iron stylus, a completely preserved bronze brush, the lid of a bronze inkwell,33 two more, almost complete, terra sigillata inkwells, and an iron spatula (Fig. 9.5). Given the fact that these finds were collected mainly in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the excavated areas featured sandy soils with unfavourable conservation conditions for, for example, iron objects such as styli, it is conceivable that more items were present during the Roman period. Also, it can be assumed that there are many more fragments of, for example, terra sigillata inkwells present in the archaeological depots; there is no comprehensive overview of all finds from the Roman town.34 It is interesting that, based on the observations above and, especially, the absence of stylus tablets and styli in the town’s harbour, an emphasis seems to be for writing in ink in this settlement, contrary to the image of the military sites.

The town has also yielded multiple fragments of inscriptions on stone, such as altars and a fragment of an inscription mentioning a decurio municipii, providing additional evidence of the municipal status for the town.35 Eighteen other fragments of stone, showing only a limited number of letters, indicate that the town featured more monumental inscriptions.36 A large, bronze ornamental frame shows also the presence of a monumental inscription on a bronze plaque (Fig. 9.6). These finds suggest that there were many more public, monumental inscriptions present in the Roman town, a fact that seems to contrast with the image of an illiterate society. Combining the evidence from the writing equipment and inscriptions, it seems that Latin literacy was more widespread in the town than has previously been assumed.

9.3.3 Rural Sites

In the rural settlements, only four bronze and one iron stylus were found, at three different sites.37 The poor conservation of iron objects in general in this area might be the reason for the underrepresentation of iron styli. This might also apply to the spatulae that are completely lacking from the rural settlements. Three fragments of wooden stylus tablets are known, originating from three different rural sites (Fig. 9.7).38 Terra sigillata inkwells are known from at least two sites.39 Fragments of these inkwells are probably much more common finds, but might not always have been recognized, especially when they are broken into smaller pieces. Research on their occurrence in rural settlements is highly desirable. The general impression of the name graffiti on pottery is that they occur quite infrequently (Table 9.2). However, the occurrence and distribution of name graffiti in rural settlements has not been the subject of a dedicated collection and study. Given the small size of the settlements (mostly one or two byre houses) and the limited numbers of wheel-thrown vessels circulating here, there was less need to mark one’s own possessions. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that these graffiti were already on pottery vessels before they arrived at the rural sites; the way Roman style pottery was distributed to these sites is still poorly understood.40 Another explanation could be that these vessels belonged to returning veterans in the rural settlements, or that the pottery was brought home as a gift during leave from the military. Another interesting graffito was found on a bone awl, discovered on a rural site (Fig. 9.8). The graffito reads militis, suggesting the awl belonged to a ‘soldier’. Whether this was indeed a member of the Roman military or a nickname is unknown. Finally, the name of one of the inhabitants of the area is known from a military diploma that was found at another rural settlement in the area (Fig. 9.9). It mentions a veteran, who was the son of the Cananefatian Amandus (Amandi f(ilio) C[a]nnanef(ati)), dating to 164 ce.41 Unfortunately, the name of the veteran is not preserved, but the diploma shows the Latinization of names in the area.

If we combine all evidence from the rural sites, it seems that there is limited evidence for literacy, but this is partially caused by the lack of a thorough inventory of writing equipment in the area. Although only four bronze styli and one iron stylus have been found so far, it is striking that this number is already higher than that of the town, where only two styli were found, both made of iron. It is even more striking that stylus tablets are known from three different rural sites, while they are absent in the Roman town. If the number of terra sigillata inkwells in the rural settlements is indeed higher than has been known up until now, writing in ink may have been more widespread than previously thought. This would be in line with the idea that auxiliary soldiers communicated this way with their relatives in their homelands, because at least some of the Cananefatian soldiers were, like the Batavians, stationed far away from their region of origin.42

Lastly, the rural area in the civitas Cananefatium also yielded monumental inscriptions that were placed in or near the settlements of the rural communities and that might have had a certain influence on their ability (or desire) to read. The first group of inscriptions are milestones that were erected along the Roman road that ran through the area. At this point eight fragments are known.43 In one site, four milestones were found together, dating between 151 and 250 ce (Fig. 9.10).44 At a distance of two Roman miles from these, two other milestones were found.45 These milestones possibly occurred along the road at every mile; as it concerns the same road, it seems that there were always four similar ones next to each other, as milestones were always placed in series. These clusters of milestones formed, as it were, islands of letters, which were seen by every passer-by, confronting them with Latin texts. Interestingly, the last milestone in this series dating to 250 ce is set up by the Cananefates, being the civitas itself or its elite.46 The text reads: Imp(eratori) Caes(ari) C(aio) Messio/Quinto Traiano/Decio [P]io Felic(i) Invi/c(to) Aug(usto) [p]ont(ifici) max(imo)/trib(unicia) p[o]tes(tate) co(n)s(uli) II p(atri) p(atriae)/proco(n)[s(uli)] Cananefates./Ab civitate Leu[g(ae)].47 Does this indeed suggest that the local community, represented by the elite or the civitas itself, cared that they were represented along the main road that ran through their territory? Or was the mention of the Cananefates motivated politically, as an exceptional testimonial of loyalty to the Emperor?48 Whatever the reason might have been, the fact that the representation of a local community is displayed in letters suggests that at least a part of this community embraced the use of Latin.

Another group of monumental inscriptions are those on bronze plaques that were found at two sites in the south of the civitas Cananefatium (Fig. 9.11).49 All these fragments were found in late or post-Roman contexts, where they ended up as scrap metal. The careless handling of the valuable pieces of metal on both sites suggests that they originated from a site in the immediate vicinity. This assumption is supported by other finds, such as the exceptional number of almost forty stamps of the Classis Germanica Pia Fidelis on both sites, suggesting a fortification of the Roman fleet in the vicinity.50 The largest fragment of a bronze plaque was probably from a base of a bronze, lifesize statue of an Emperor, of which many fragments were found, including a more than life-sized right hand.51 The inscription can be ascribed to the Classis Augusta Germanica,52 dating to 130 or 131 ce.53 A second fragment, presumably of the same plaque, was discovered during another excavation at the same site.54 More fragments of bronze plaques with inscriptions have been found at the same site, one being a fragment of a decree issued by the governor or the Emperor himself, a second one showing a list of names of an army unit or members of another organization55 and two other indeterminable inscriptions.56 Lastly, a fragment showing five lines of text was found at a neighbouring site; this inscription could also not be interpreted further.57 The inscriptions, although found in a secondary context, were probably affixed in a public place in or next to a fortification of the Roman fleet. Interestingly, the fortification was mainly surrounded by rural settlements, making the public display of texts on bronze plaques senseless, unless the texts were intended only for the more literate users of the fort. On the other hand, the symbolic significance of these texts for the surrounding rural population should not be underestimated.

9.4 Writing Equipment and Literacy in the civitas Cananefatium

Most evidence for writing equipment and epigraphic sources can be found on military sites. This is reflected by the large numbers of name graffiti in the forts and its adjacent extramural settlements. Furthermore, the military communities seem to have been involved in an extended administration, given the relatively large numbers of iron styli and wooden stylus tablets that were found there. In addition, it seems that people living along the Lower Rhine frontier wrote quite frequently in ink. The abundant evidence for literacy within the military communities dates from the first start in 40 ce all the way up to the end of the third century ce. The town, which was inhabited from 100 ce onwards,58 can be considered the administrative centre and the centre for tax collection in the region.59 The absence of writing tablets and the very few styli suggest that most of the administration and writing in the town were done in ink, although many iron styli may not have been preserved, and more finds await analysis. The writing equipment from the Roman town could not be dated, because of a lack of contextual information; the finds must roughly date between 100 and 300 ce. The same dating issues concern the finds from the rural sites. Here, it seems that (some) members of the rural communities, based on the frequent occurrence of inkwells, made of terra sigillata, wrote in ink as well. At other rural sites, bronze styli and wooden stylus tablets have been found, suggesting an involvement in administrative tasks and record-keeping—for example, concerning the sale of crops and livestock, or maybe tax expenditure. Nevertheless, these writing tablets could also be considered to be receipts or invoices, which were distributed by officials from the town or the military. Therefore, these tablets are not necessarily direct evidence for literacy on the part of the rural population, although it is hard to imagine that the community accepting these written accounts had no individuals able to read them.

Overall, it is quite difficult to assess the level of literacy in the civitas Cananefatium. This is caused by the fact that few studies of writing equipment and its distribution have been undertaken in this area but also by contextual issues, such as the poor preservation of iron objects on rural sites, making it impossible to assess the number of, for example, iron styli. However, the fact that a brief survey, executed for this volume, resulted in the collection of several examples of writing equipment indicates that there is probably much more to be coordinated and published. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that the capability to write and read was perhaps more widespread than has traditionally been assumed for this region, even within the rural communities. This statement raises the question of how the Cananefates compare with other communities within Germania Inferior. To begin this conversation, the adjacent Batavian area, located to the east of the Cananefatian area, is briefly presented along the same lines as the civitas Cananefatium.

9.5 Writing in the civitas Batavorum

9.5.1 Rural Sites

In contrast to the Cananefatian area, the civitas Batavorum, brought under Roman control in the second half of the first century bce,60 comprises a much larger territory with many more sites. Most of these sites are rural settlements. If the number and type of pieces of writing equipment in these settlements is assessed again, leaving the seal boxes out, it appears that, at first glance, the overall pattern is quite comparable to that of the rural sites in the Cananefatian area: a few styli, mainly of bronze, wooden stylus tablets at four rural settlements, a wax spatula, and two bronze inkwells, for one of which only the lid was found.61 However, an additional survey suggests there is more evidence, like the recently discovered, almost complete terra sigillata inkwell found at a rural settlement in the area (Fig. 9.12).62 Comparable to the Cananefatian area, name graffiti seem to be fairly rare, although present at some sites.63 Also, a military diploma has been found, mentioning a Batavian veteran and his family.64 Milestones, unlike in the civitas Cananefatium, are lacking, but in contrast to the region of the Cananefates, in the rural area of the Batavian civitas several cult sites were present, where the remains of monumental stone buildings have been found, like the two temple sites in Elst and the one in Empel.65 Although post-Roman reuse of stones took place on a considerable scale, it is conceivable that these cult sites were littered with stone altars and other inscriptions, like, for example, the votive inscription found in Empel, which was set up by a veteran of the tenth Legion that was stationed in Nijmegen (Fig. 9.13).66 One of the Elst temples (the larger one of the two) also yielded a graffito in Greek, written on a fragment of wall painting.67 These cult sites can be considered as central points for the use and display of writing. Finally, a fragment of a monumental inscription on bronze was also found, in a well in a rural settlement. This plaque might have been a document recording an official decision taken in the year 42, 43, 47, or 51 ce, when Emperor Claudius held the consulship, although other interpretations are possible.68 It remains unclear if the inscription was indeed set up in the vicinity of its find-spot.

In recent years, several Roman cemeteries have been excavated in the Batavian area.69 Most of these were located in the rural hinterland of the Roman frontier, but one of them, the cemetery at the current village Huissen, seems to be situated next to the military road, within the direct sphere of influence of the Roman army.70 Yet, on both sides of this cemetery, rural settlements were present, suggesting a mix between military and rural habits. In the cemetery, a burial was found that consisted of two pits.71 The right, square pit, measured around 1 × 1 metres and contained five ceramic vessels, a ceramic sling bullet, and three animal bones. The pottery dated between 40 and 100 ce.72 The dimensions of the left pit could not be determined exactly. It contained a glass bottle and bowl, but the pit was mainly filled with the remains of a wooden box, with dimensions 50 × 50 centimetres. The box was equipped with double iron corner fittings, hinges, and presumably a lock plate with lock. Inside the box was a set of writing equipment: a decorated bronze inkwell with remains of a stamp on the bottom, a bone spatulate strip, and a small knife with bone handle, possibly a penknife (Fig. 9.14). The inkwell might date the burial between 80 and 100 ce.73 It seems that the person, whose cremated remains might have been placed in a ‘now lost stone ash chest’,74 possessed during his or her life a literate identity, which was expressed in the burial ritual.

A second example of a burial with evidence for a literate identity was found in a rural cemetery named ‘t Klumke, some kilometres to the north of the Roman town in Nijmegen. This burial contained the cremated remains of an adult male and a child between 2 and 4 years old, and was furnished with an elaborate set of ceramic, glass, and bronze vessels, dating the burial to the third quarter of the second century ce.75 Besides other objects such as an apparently unique iron brooch with bronze and silver decoration, an iron military belt buckle, iron fittings and a lock plate of a wooden chest, and bronze fittings for a drinking horn, a bronze inkwell, iron stylus, and possible iron penknife were found (Fig. 9.15). Compared to the Huissen burial, mentioned above, this cemetery was located within a rural area with no clear military influence. On the other hand, the military belt buckle from this burial might suggest a relation between the deceased and the Roman army.76 Both burials from the Huissen and the ‘t Klumke sites indicate a desire to express a literate identity in the afterlife. Although they might be connected to the Roman military, the burials are placed within cemeteries with a clear rural signature, suggesting that the deceased individuals were connected to both worlds.

9.5.2 Military Sites

In the Batavian civitas, many Roman military sites along the Lower Rhine were washed away after the Roman period. Some exceptions remain, however, such as the forts in the western part of the Batavian area and the ones in Nijmegen, including several, non-contemporary legionary fortresses. As in the civitas Cananefatium, all forts show abundant examples of evidence for literacy. The recently discovered Roman military cult site at Herwen yielded dozens of inscriptions on stone, such as dedicatory altars and a building inscription.77 In the western part of the frontier in the Batavian civitas, the fort in Vechten alone yielded more than 100 wooden stylus tablets, over 150 styli, several inkwells, made of bronze and terra sigillata, including many fragments, a penknife, a sherd with an inscription in ink, and numerous name graffiti on pottery.78 On the ship De Meern 1, a ship of the military type ‘Zwammerdam’ that sunk in the Lower Rhine near Utrecht with its complete inventory, mainly tools that indicated that the skipper was actually a carpenter, a Vindolanda-type ink pen (the only one known in the Netherlands (Fig. 9.16)) and two styli were found, suggesting the presence of one or more literate persons among the ship’s crew.79 These objects seem to indicate that literacy might have been distributed all the way up to the individual skippers, although it may not be surprising that keeping records was part of the daily routine of skippers and traders.80 In Nijmegen, no comprehensive study of writing equipment has been undertaken, but it is clear that within the military sites many examples are present, like the ‘dozens’ of iron styli from the Roman fort at the Kops Plateau.81 Another indication for a relatively widespread literacy is the good representation of metal inkwells in Nijmegen, also in military contexts (Fig. 9.17).82 A fragment of a monumental inscription on stone was found near the headquarters of the camp of the tenth legion; only the letters CA are preserved.83

9.5.3 The Town

Besides the military installations, the capital of the Batavi, called Ulpia Noviomagus or Municipium Batavorum, was also located in Nijmegen. One of the few thoroughly published excavations in this town yielded six styli, all of bronze, in addition to several name graffiti.84 Among the small finds is a silver ring mentioning the cobblers and the curia Esseravi, an unknown (religious) fellowship.85 In the town, evidence for monumental inscriptions on stone is lacking, with the exception of an inscription mentioning the carpenter’s guild.86 A more or less monumental inscription was found on a bronze plaque; it concerns a (public?) contract.87 A second fragment of a large bronze plaque was found outside the town within a collection of scrap metal; this inscription was probably a decree or speech issued by the Emperor (Fig. 9.18).88

Next to the town in Nijmegen, a vast cemetery was located. In this cemetery, a group of eleven burials, surrounded by walled enclosures, was discovered; four of them contained writing equipment.89 In another burial, just outside the walled enclosures, another set of writing equipment was found. In all cases, a combination of a metal inkwell and a penknife was found, but the four burials inside the walled enclosures also contained iron spatulas and styli. Strikingly, all burials with writing equipment, including the one outside the walled enclosures, date between 80 and 120 ce, while the remaining other burials within the walled enclosures date more roughly to the (later) second and third centuries ce.90 The burials inside the walled enclosures probably belonged to the municipal elite of the town in Nijmegen, while the people buried just outside the enclosures might have had a special relationship with these people.91 The writing equipment from the burials suggests that the local aristocracy of the town used these items to express a certain social status, a phenomenon that has been identified in comparable cases,92 but it also can be observed in the aforementioned exceptional burials in the rural cemeteries. At least one other inkwell was found in the cemetery next to the Roman town; its original context is unfortunately lost.93

9.6 Comparative Remarks

If we compare evidence from the Cananefatian and Batavian civitates, it seems that there is more writing equipment on rural sites in the latter region. However, the Batavian area is much larger than that of the Cananefates, and, if both areas are compared on the basis of name graffiti, they are comparable. The most interesting evidence in the Batavian area was found in burials, a category of contexts that is largely missing in the Cananefatian area, where the local communities mostly did not provide the deceased with an elaborate set of burial gifts. Although both rural burials with sets of writing equipment seem to be connected somehow with the Roman military, they could also indicate that local, rural elites adopted the habit of expressing a literate identity, mirroring the elite burials that were found elsewhere, like those in the walled enclosure in the cemetery next to the Roman town in Nijmegen. Unfortunately, the cemetery belonging to the Cananefatian capital has not been located yet, making a comparison between urban burials from both regions impossible. However, excavations within both towns yielded several pieces of writing equipment. Combining the abundant evidence from the Roman military sites, there are no differences observable between both areas.

An interesting aspect from these regions is the relatively strong representation of inkwells made of bronze or terra sigillata, found in all types of settlements and burials, although the majority is known from military settlements (Fig. 9.19). Additionally, the military contexts yielded several penknifes (Fig. 9.20) and even one iron Vindolanda-type ink pen. Also, in the forts at the Roman frontier, pottery fragments with ink texts are known. This suggests that, besides the use of wax tablets and styli, writing in ink was widespread and maybe even dominant, regardless of the context. Although iron is not always very well preserved in the areas of the Cananefates and the Batavi, and iron nibs of Vindolanda-type ink pens were probably not always recognized, it is remarkable that only one specimen has been found.94 This poor representation seems to indicate that it is likely that most ink pens were made of reed. During excavations in the Roman fort at Velsen I, located to the north of the Lower Rhine, a possible reed pen was found;95 unfortunately, the object was not conserved and is now lost. Although other reed pens are not known from the Netherlands, archaeobotanical evidence, collected in the Dutch Relational Archaeobotanical Database for Advanced Research (RADAR), suggests that common reed (Phragmites australis) grew at dozens of sites dating to the Roman period, distributed all over the Netherlands.96 Apparently, reed was widespread, available almost everywhere, and presumably it would have been no problem at all to obtain a set of reed pens.97

However, one key artefact that would support the idea of widespread usage of writing in ink in both areas is lacking: the ink tablet or leaf tablet. This is all the more noticeable since the Cananefatian and Batavian areas comprise many anaerobic, waterlogged contexts, whether military, urban, or rural in character. Although it remains a possibility that the ink tablets were not used in these areas, it seems more plausible that, up until now, they have not been recognized during excavations. The excavation methods used in the Netherlands are also a limiting factor in finding this type of object: in many cases, waterlogged contexts are excavated using mechanical diggers, because the developer-led excavations are carried out under great (financial) pressure. A radical change in excavation methods, especially at contexts where these fragile objects can be expected, could produce unexpected results.

9.7 Other Areas in the Dutch Part of Germania Inferior and beyond the Empire

The Cananefatian and Batavian civitates formed the most northern part of the Roman Province of Germania Inferior. To the south of the Cananefates, the civitas Frisiavonum might have been located. Archaeologically, it shows a lot of similarities with the northern area, although not much evidence for military sites is present here. Writing equipment and graffiti are scarce, but one of the sites must have been a harbour settlement or even a small town, and that has yielded two inkpots.98 On one of the rural settlements, a graffito was found on a terra sigillata plate: Ianuari.99 More to the south, the cult site of Colijnsplaat yielded 311 fragments of inscribed stone altars,100 fitting into the comparable image created by the cult sites in the Batavian area, that they were indeed ‘islands of letters’. Otherwise, the patterns of literacy of the area of the Frisiavones seem to match with those of the Cananefatian civitas.

The southern boundary of the Batavian civitas might have been located somewhere in the Pleistocene, the sandy soils of the southern Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. More to the south, the civitas Tungrorum was located. It seems that most of this area belonged to the area of the Tungri.101 These sandy soils are characterized by dispersed settlements, consisting of several wooden byre houses and associated cemeteries.102 Besides rural settlements, almost no other settlement type is present. Only one terra sigillata inkwell is known from this area,103 and one bronze handle of a spatula,104 the latter found on the same site where two fragments of a military diploma were found.105 This is also the only site in the region where remains of a stone-built structure have been uncovered.

The south-eastern part of the Netherlands covers the Meuse Valley and a small part of the fertile loess soil area. The area fell mostly within the boundaries of the civitas Traianensis and formed the rural hinterland of the Colonia Ulpia Traiana. Along the Meuse, first-century military sites developed into roadside settlements. Besides rural settlements of the type that can be found elsewhere in the Netherlands, sites of the villa rustica type are also present, especially in the far south. The area, also referred to as a villa landscape, comprises several small towns. Here, recently published villa settlements such as Maasbracht and Voerendaal each yielded one stylus.106 In Voerendaal, not many name graffiti were found, but an interesting cluster was discovered at a possible temple site behind the main building of the villa; the vessels with inscribed names were probably votive offerings.107 Other interesting objects are the three bronze ‘friendship tablets’, found in the villa Valkenburg-Ravensbos (Fig. 9.21),108 which, according to the texts, were offered by clients to a patron, in this case a member of the city council of Colonia Ulpia Traiana, the Roman colony that was located some 100 kilometres away, along the Rhine River.109 The tablets were probably presented to the patron in the villa by individuals, while one of the tablets seem to have been presented by a larger community, the pagus Catual[ensis?].110 The latter tablet in particular might have had a copy that was displayed at a public place somewhere in the involved pagus, where the bond between patron and client was visible for all involved. These inscriptions at least indicate that literacy in this rural context was also directly driven by civic interactions and links with the distant town of Colonia Ulpia Traiana. At the villa these texts were perhaps seen by a potentially large familia and other associates on the villa estate, while members of the pagus Catual[ensis?] could see the confirmation of their bond with a powerful patron each time they visited him at his residence.

As in the Batavian area, the expression of a literate identity seems to be important to the local aristocracy in this hinterland of the civitas Traianensis. The elaborate wall paintings, found in the villa of Maasbracht, were decorated with texts, but also a figure with an ink pen and ink tablet is shown (Fig. 9.22), indicating the importance of displaying literate capabilities for the local elite.111 The texts on these wall paintings, which could be dated around 200 ce, were applied in the upper zone of the wall paintings showing mythological scenes; possibly the texts were meant to explain the depicted scenes.112 Frequently, small clusters of richly furnished burials are found, which are usually associated with the rural (villa) elite. Some of them included writing equipment, such as an inkwell, a spatula,113 or a stylus (Fig. 9.23). This southern area resembles more the regions around the Roman towns of Tongeren and Cologne, areas that are intersected by Roman roads and where much epigraphic evidence is available. A full inventory of writing equipment would enhance our vision of writing capabilities and literacy in this area.

The northern part of the Netherlands, beyond the Lower Rhine, was incorporated into the Roman Empire for only a short period of time, during the first half of the first century ce. Objects that can be associated with writing were found only in association with early Roman forts, like in Velsen I, where many wooden stylus tablets and wooden styli were recovered,114 alongside the already mentioned possible reed pen. The second Roman fort in Velsen yielded only two stylus tablets.115 Recently, to the north of Velsen, a wooden writing tablet was found,116 on a site where a Roman watchtower was set up.117 Further to the north, another tablet was found—namely, the famous Tolsum tablet, which is, until now, the only wooden tablet in the Netherlands to have been analysed and published.118 This used to be viewed as a tablet that circulated in a rural settlement, but the proximity to the early Roman site of Winsum, which could very well be a Roman fortification, suggests that this tablet should also be seen as coming from a military context. Finally, in Leersum, a village several kilometres north of the Lower Rhine, fragments of a bronze plaque have been found, with a monumental inscription, possibly an imperial decree (Fig. 9.24).119 The plaque could date between 193 and 211 or between 222 and 235 ce and was probably brought to the site as scrap metal; its original location might have been the Roman frontier along the Lower Rhine in the Batavian area.

To summarize, the area to the north of the Lower Rhine, outside the Roman Empire, yielded only writing equipment related to early Roman military sites. The Leersum plaque can be seen as a collection of bronze pieces, brought together after the Roman Empire had lost its grip on the region. The other areas within the Empire seem to fit largely within the contours of practice sketched from the existing evidence for the Cananefatian and Batavian area, with the exception of the far south of the Netherlands, where the region was part of a so-called villa landscape, which was much more connected to the Roman towns in Cologne and Tongeren.

9.8 Concluding Remarks

Although the distribution of Roman writing equipment in the Netherlands was published for the first time in the early 2000s within the broader research to identify veterans of the Roman army in the Batavian countryside, not much has since been published on this matter. In this chapter, a new attempt has been undertaken to stimulate interest in, and to start the work towards, more comprehensive insights into the distribution of writing equipment and literacy practices, zooming out to the whole of the Netherlands during the Roman period. It seems that the number of pieces of writing equipment presented in this chapter represents only the tip of the iceberg, because taphonomical processes, excavation methods, and the state of research obscure the image of the reality in the distant past. Given the abundant data that has been collected within a limited time span, it seems safe to presume that there was more Roman writing equipment than has traditionally been thought circulating in the part of the Netherlands that was incorporated in the Empire, and that, even on remote rural settlements, evidence can be found. There were clearly regional differences in the Roman period, however, with some communities, like the top half of the civitas Tungrorum, exhibiting less evidence for literacy, and this will need to be explored further with more extensive collection and analysis of materials. Even though it is not clear from these artefacts who in the local communities could read, it seems that in some of these communities many inhabitants would have come into contact with Latin writing, whether on milestones, tablets, coins, or publicly displayed plaques, making it hard to imagine that no one could read anything at all. In terms of rural literacy itself, the creation of an inventory of terra sigillata inkwells from existing archaeological records might be one of the more promising paths to follow, but also the promotion of specific types of excavation methods, especially in the anaerobic, wet contexts of many Dutch sites, which aim at better collection of organic artefacts, could eventually contribute to a better understanding of the distribution of writing equipment. Importantly, this will allow for a more differentiated picture eventually, and the possibility to reconsider some of the observations made here—such as the presumed focus on ink writing, or the possible differences between the towns and rural areas when it comes to literacy.

However, what is arguably lacking is a basic scientific interest—and a resulting relative lack of local expertise—in writing equipment or Latin literacy in the Netherlands. As a result, the more than 200 wooden writing tablets that have been found in the Netherlands have not yet been studied. To date, only the famous Tolsum tablet and three addresses have been interpreted and published.120 In the next few years, with the help of the imaging taken with the RTI dome of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, and with the collaboration of the LatinNow team, an attempt will be made to study some of these tablets. Even without knowledge of the texts, which are admittedly very hard to recover, however, research can be done on the contexts, morphology, affordances, and use marks of the tablets. A broad inventory, aiming at collecting and analysing all Roman writing utensils in the Netherlands, including the wooden tablets, would greatly enhance our knowledge of writing capabilities and Latin Literacy in the Netherlands.

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