Reassessing Roman Impact: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Long-Term Changes in Settlement and Connectivity in the Kromme Rijn Region (Lower Germanic Limes)

Lower Germanic Limes, Roman imperialism, mixed-methods archaeology, aoristic modelling, connectivity

This paper reassesses “Roman impact” in the Kromme Rijn region of the Lower Germanic limes through a mixed-methods analysis of settlement, material culture, and connectivity. Combining qualitative site biographies with quantitative aoristic modelling in 40-year intervals, it traces long-term regional trajectories from the Late Iron Age to Late Antiquity. The results show that rural expansion preceded the establishment of the military frontier and that Roman influence was uneven, selective, and strongly mediated by connectivity rather than proximity to forts. Sites integrated into transport and supply networks proved more resilient during late Roman contraction, highlighting Roman impact as a heterogeneous, processual reconfiguration of frontier landscapes rather than a uniform imperial transformation