MAILLEN
Belgium.
Two of the largest
Gallo-Roman villas ever excavated in Belgium were
discovered in the jurisdiction of this township. The
first, near Ronchinnes, was investigated in 1894. It consisted of a main building and four subsidiary buildings,
the whole extending over a length of ca. 400 m. The
first stage of the villa goes back to the middle or even
the first half of the 1st c. A.D. At that time, it was a
rather modest rectangular building, containing six rooms
flanked on the S side by a portico. Later, it was enlarged
on both sides (with the construction of a complete
thermal installation, including frigidarium with labrum,
sudatorium, and caldarium). In its final state, the villa
was a long, narrow, rectangular ensemble, with a portico
along the whole S facade, about 110 m long. Part of
the villa was heated by hypocausts, and there were at
least two very carefully built cellars with niches arranged in the walls. Apparently the villa must have suffered under Marcus Aurelius during the invasions of
the Chauci and perhaps also during the invasions of the
Franks in the second half of the 3d c. However, it was
one of the few agricultural establishments in Belgium
which remained in use throughout the 4th c. Of the
subsidiary buildings one was a brewery, with a malt-house, fermentation room, depot. Another was an iron-works. Iron was already being produced on an industrial
scale in the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse in Gallo-Roman
times.
The second villa was excavated near Al Sauvenière
in 1889. Less extensive than the villa of Ronchinnes,
it is similar in plan: a large quadrangular ensemble. The
rooms opened onto a portico, extending ca. 73 m, the
whole length of the S facade. The W wing, where fragments of fresco and window glass were found, served
as a dwelling. The E wing was intended for agricultural
use. The two wings were separated by an interior court.
North of the court was a complete bath building, with
praefurnium, caldarium, tepidarium, frigidarium, and
latrine. A subsidiary building was located 45 m from
the main building. The villa was in use from the first
half of the 1st c. until the end of the 4th.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. De Maeyer,
De Romeinsche Villa's
in Belgë (1937) passim, esp. 93-99; id.,
De Overblijfselen der Romeinsche Villa's in België (1940) 267-72.
S. J. DE LAET
