Follow Caesar’s footsteps through the beautiful South Limburg landscape
Imagine a marching column of eight legions with an estimated length of 16 kilometres. Soldiers walking a prehistoric route passing through South Limburg and crossing the river Meuse near Maastricht. The year is 55 BC, and this is Julius Caesar’s army, circumventing the dangerous mountain forests of the Ardennes and heading for the first Roman invasion of Britain.
Article by:
Words - Tom Buijtendorp & Ankie Bosch
Images - Tom Buijtendorp
Via Belgica
Thanks to the recent discovery of Caesar’s marching camps in Germany and Britain, Caesar specialist and author, Tom Buijtendorp, was able to reconstruct the general’s route. A few decades later, the proven safe route transformed into the main Roman road between Cologne and Boulogne-sur-Mer, now known as Via Belgica. In front of Château St. Gerlach, a small part of the original Roman road has been reconstructed and about ten kilometres to the west, it passes less than 100 metres from Kruisherenhotel Maastricht. When the front of Caesar's column reached this location, the back still had to march past the future site of Château St. Gerlach.
Caesar’s largest defeat
The year after Caesar’s march towards Britain, food shortages forced him to settle one and a half legions in a prehistoric hill fort at the Eburones. This tribe, living in the area around Maastricht and nearby Tongeren, was forced to provide 5,000 to 6,000 Roman soldiers with grain during the legions' winter stay. In doing so, Caesar severely misjudged the loyalty of the Eburones and miscalculated the site’s vulnerability, as he resided at his head-quarters in Amiens. After a few weeks, the Roman unit was attacked and completely destroyed, in an onslaught led by the Eburones’ leader, Ambiorix.
Ambiorix’s victory was by far the largest single defeat of Caesar's army during the Gallic War. Although the battlefield has never been officially identified, the research of Tom Buijtendorp indicates the Jeker Valley, near Château Neercanne, as the most likely location. In any case, it is a splendid site to envisage the battle. The Caestert plain, opposite Château Neercanne, is the only preserved prehistoric hill fort in the surrounding area, and the well-maintained natural environment fits the detailed description in Caesar's account.
Follow Roman footsteps
To envisage both the 55 and 54 BC events, the book De Caesar Route, takes the reader on a journey through the beautiful South Limburg landscape, complete with descriptions and hiking guides. It also includes Julius Caesar-inspired walking tours that include nearby Tongeren, the city of Ambiorix, and further afield in the Ardennes.
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