Heated Crafts on the Roman Shore: Revisiting the Debate on the Exploitation of Coastal Wetlands. The Case of Roman Aardenburg (Zeeland, the Netherlands)

• Autores: Michiel Dekoninck, Dante De Ruijsscher, Wim De Clercq
• Localización: Latomus: revue d'études latines, ISSN 0023-8856, Vol. 81, Nº. 4, 2022, págs. 788-818
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In the past, coastal wetlands had a high potential for specific resource exploitation strategies like sheep husbandry, fishing and salt production. At Aardenburg (Zeeland, NL), multiple workshops and debris depositions point towards intense craft activities during Roman times. Yet, the nature of these heated crafts has long been debated (e.g. metallurgy, salt production or lime burning). After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that the workshops at Aardenburg were most likely related to salt production. Not only was the site well accessible, but the raw materials were readily available. Additionally, in the vicinity of Aardenburg, several salt production sites are known, and the debris depositions of all sites are highly comparable. Furthermore, the lack of suitable heating infrastructure, the absence of raw materials such as limestone and a relatively small local and regional market make it rather improbable that the workshops of Aardenburg produced lime.