Evidence of Roman roads unearthed near Utrecht

UTRECHT – The massive urbanization of a district south of the City of Utrecht has prompted the mandatory pre-development archeological survey of the site. Farmers obviously were not first to traverse the meadows along the old Rhine route. Archeologists continue to unearth traces of early Roman occupation. First they dug up shipwrecks, and now also the land route by which the troops traveled. The presence of the Romans about two thousand years ago was never in doubt, and is a well-documented part of Dutch history. Not as well known are all the precise locations where the Romans build their infrastructure. The new Leidsche Rijn district has helped to map this information significantly, including the link between the Roman settlement of Trajectum (now Utrecht) and the main Roman ‘highway’ towards the coast. Various roads lead to Rome but one once lay near to Utrecht.