Click between science, heritage and public
Author: Harry Lindelauf
Photography: Anja Neskens
The commissioning of a Via Belgica bench and an archaeological field survey were on Saturday 8 November 2025 the ingredients for a fine connection between science, heritage and the public.
The location was the Roman valley in Bocholtz, close to the place where the remains of the Roman villa Vlengendaal had previously been discovered. Quartermaster Benoît Mater, on behalf of the Roman Museum in Heerlen, was allowed to open the festivities with a brief explanation of the project Roman Villas in Limburg. Subsequently, project manager Anja Neskens, on behalf of Via Belgica, emphasized the lasting importance of the Roman infrastructure for the region. Alderman Hub Hodinius of Simpelveld gave the official signal for the commissioning of the new Via Belgica bench, which was then symbolically blessed by the Roman villa owner.
The Via Belgica bench is a design by Studio BKL.
Field research at Vlengendaal
After the official part, about twenty volunteers started an archaeological field survey in two rounds. This involves systematically walking across the terrain and searching for finds on the surface. For the survey, the terrain in the immediate surroundings of the Roman villa Vlengendaal was chosen, a location with a rich past.
The yield consisted mainly of Roman building materials that students of Radboud University will identify and analyse. The hope is that the finds will offer new insights into the history of villa Vlengendaal.
The field survey is part of a pilot by Radboud University in Nijmegen, which in the coming years aims to conduct research into Roman villas in South Limburg in a similar way.
Exhibition
The opening of the Via Belgica bench and the field survey are part of the project Roman Villas in Limburg, whose exhibition of the same name can still be seen until 4 January in De Vondst in Heerlen (Raadhuisplein 20). The project, made possible in part by a contribution from the Mondriaan Fund, is a collaboration between the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, the Limburgs Museum in Venlo and the Roman Museum in Heerlen.
