When assessing Roman economic power, the problem is the lack of contemporary statistics on the subject. Instead, these figures have been reconstructed from the available sources, which are mostly written. The strength of a regional study such as this one lies in the fact that it can incorporate the largely local archaeological findings and assess their contribution to the question.
Timmerman addresses the influence of the Roman occupation on the Lower German Limes region in terms of economic growth — the region corresponds fairly closely to the province of Germania Inferior. He seeks to determine per capita growth, as aggregate economic growth may be driven by population growth and does therefore not indicate a genuine increase in economic output. The volume is a revised version of the author’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Cologne, from 2021.
After an introduction to the history of research, methodology and preconditions of the research area, T. describes the effects of the Roman occupation on societies within the study area (ch. 3), specifically the arrival of the Roman army with tens of thousands of professional soldiers in a region that had previously been only moderately populated, the onset of urbanisation, population development, institutional changes (namely taxation, monetisation, standardisation) and infrastructure. Concerning population development, a significant population growth in the second century — which cannot be explained by an increased birth rate — and a decline in the third century is shown.
In the agricultural sector, the southern part of the study area (the loess plains) experienced economic growth during the Roman period through intensification and more efficient farming practices, whereas in the northern areas no evidence of intensification in arable farming can be found, although there is evidence of specialisation in cattle farming (ch. 4).
The extraction of raw materials is examined on the basis of selected materials, namely wood, stone and ore (ch. 5). The significance of this economic sector is largely regional, with the exception of the supra-regional importance of basalt lava (quernstones) and lead. A selection of the most important sectors is also made for crafts: pottery production (vessel and building ceramics), glass production and metal-working. Here, too, it can be concluded that these activities were carried out on a significantly larger scale than in the late Iron Age. They were initiated by the Roman army, but, from the second half of the first century onwards, taken over by civilian producers (with the exception of a few specialised areas). Most producers worked for local and regional customers; only a few potteries (Cologne, Sinzig, Soller) and Cologne vessel glass were of supra-regional significance. This sector also experienced substantial economic growth in the second century, while it declined in the third century.
The next chapter (6) focuses on the long-distance trade in selected goods — amphorae and terra sigillata — interregional trade, and the traders themselves. This sector expanded significantly; here too, the army was the main driving force in the early stages. Ch. 7 examines living standards as an indicator of economic growth. The author focuses not only on the elite — as their standard of living does not necessarily reflect economic growth — but on that of broader sections of the population with regard to house construction and metal finds. In the former, a very clear growth is evident, particularly in the loess regions, with the construction of small and medium-sized villas, some using durable building materials (stone, brick), while in the north, where solid building materials are less readily available, this growth is not as pronounced. Due to accessibility issues, metal finds are analysed only for the Netherlands (portable-antiquities.nl). They indicate a rise in living standards, but it is unclear to what extent this reflects only the living standards of returning veterans, who may have acquired these metal finds during their service, rather than a general rise in living standards.
T. concludes that evidence of economic growth can be demonstrated. There was a shift from the subsistence-based economy of the late Iron Age towards a market-oriented economic system. While part of this growth can be attributed exclusively to the Roman state or military, T. believes that there was not only overall economic growth but also per capita economic growth.
Concerning the title, there is a minor issue with the use of the term ‘germanic’. In academic usage, it refers to conditions outside of the Roman Empire, as in ‘Germanic tribes’. When referring to the Roman province, the term ‘German’ is normally used as in ‘Lower German Limes’ or ‘Upper German-Raetian Limes’.
A few minor points may also be remarked critically: seal capsules are taken as evidence of written communication (ch. 3). More recent studies argue instead that they are product labels. However, this is only peripheral to T.’s argument, since there is also other evidence of literacy among broader sections of the population.
In the chapter on land use, the key work by Tanja Zerl (Archäobotanische Untersuchungen zur Landwirtschaft und Ernährung während der Bronze- und Eisenzeit in der Niederrheinischen Bucht, 2019) is not cited in the discussion of pre-Roman agriculture.
As far as glass production is concerned, T. unfortunately follows the older argument that in Late Antiquity raw glass was produced in the Hambach Forest. This thesis has since been disproved: the late antique glass furnaces in the Hambach Forest were working glass, not making it. Furthermore, an old study from 1985 is cited, which arrives at the now long-outdated view that glass vessels in the fourth century were primarily luxury goods. The opposite is the case.
But all in all, the positive side overweighs. The work takes the rare approach of combining two disciplines: ancient history and archaeology. While neither discipline can be accused of ignoring the findings of the other, a genuine interweaving of methodology and source analysis is not all that common. T. has succeeded in achieving this with his work. From start to finish, the work pursues the question posed at the outset regarding the impact of Roman rule on the economic performance of the region under investigation, never losing sight of the central thread. In the conclusions set out at the end of each chapter, the question is repeatedly revisited, and the contribution of the respective topic to the main theme is summarised. The structure of the book is stringent, logical and well thought out. The work is fluently written and reads well. Also commendable is the critical examination of various sources and arguments from all angles, and the comprehensive discussion of possible distortions in the data sets. The book makes an important contribution to research on Roman economic performance.
