Festival Via Belgica: Romans return to Coriovallum after 2,000 years
Author: Harry Lindelauf
Photography: Rolf Schins
Exactly at the place where they lived and worked in Coriovallum 2,000 to 1,600 years ago, there they returned on Sunday 3 October: the Romans. The Festival Via Belgica, organised by the partners of the province and municipalities along the Via Belgica, occupied the Roman Quarter in the making for an entire day. For modern Heerlen is working on the future, and the Roman past is given a prominent place in it.
A high priest opened the festival with a sacrificium. This Roman offering ceremony, directly next to the replica of the Roman milestone, was intended to appease the Roman supreme god Jupiter so that he would exercise his power over rain and wind. The burning of laurel and wine was partly successful: the wind diminished considerably and the rain remained modest afterwards. Between the Thermenmuseum, the future Mijnmuseum and at the Tempsplein, a broad gathering of “Romans” could be admired and experienced; from legionary to fortune-teller. During the festival the Thermenmuseum opened a new exhibition. In a modern design, the jewels of Roman finds from the region are presented, flanked by authentic cross-sections of the Via Belgica and the Via Traiana in full scale.
