Introduction

Finds of Roman weaponry and horse gear in rural and especially urban settlements have long been associated with the presence of military guard posts or fortifications. ¹ In recent years, however, objects of a military nature have been found in these and other non-military contexts in large numbers, thus opening the way for alternative interpretations. The Roman Military Equipment Conference in Windisch-Vindonissa (2001) was entirely taken up with the subject of Roman soldiers and militaria in the civilian domain. ² The conference proceedings present an interesting picture of the current state of research. What stands out is the focus on finds from urban centres, with finds from other non-military contexts generally not taken into consideration. ³ Moreover, interpretation tends to confine itself to listing possible explanations, rather than further analysing finds at a site or regional level. ⁴ The present study seeks to fill this gap by examining the weaponry and horse gear from the eastern Rhine delta – the territory of the Batavians – for the entire Roman period. Underpinning the research is an extensive inventory of about 2,700 ‘military’ items from urban centres, as well as rural settlements, cult places, rivers and graves.