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Elewijt vicus

Coordinates: 50°58′07″N 04°29′47″E / 50.96861°N 4.49639°E / 50.96861; 4.49639
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Elewijt vicus
Roman roads and settlements near the Elewijt vicus
LocationBelgium
RegionFlanders
Coordinates50°58′07″N 04°29′47″E / 50.96861°N 4.49639°E / 50.96861; 4.49639
TypeRoman site
Part ofElewijt, Zemst
History
Foundedfirst century
Abandonedfourth century

In the Roman period there was an important settlement (vicus) on the territory of the present-day village of Elewijt (part of Zemst, Flemish Brabant, Belgium). It was located at the junction of a secondary road (deverticulum) with the major Roman road between Tongeren and Boulogne. In the early first century, a temporary military camp was built and not much later a village started to develop. At the end of the second century, the village was ravaged by Germanic tribes, after which it was slowly rebuilt with a completely different ground plan. The vicus continued to exist as a village until the late third century, but did not recover from a second heavy attack at the end of this period. The present-day village of Elewijt developed half a mile south of the center of the vicus and cannot be seen as its successor.

Location

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Elewijt was located on the major Roman road connecting the eastern city of Tongeren with the western city of Boulogne. Nearby vici were those of Tienen, Asse and Rumst.

References

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  • De Laet, S. J. Stillwell, Richard; et al. (eds.). ELEWIJT Belgium. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)