In Norway, numerous graves of Roman soldiers have been discovered. The majority are found in the South and South East of the country. The graves date from 45 to 450 AC. Graves with precious jewellery have also been discovered.
The graves contains the remains of mostly Roman auxiliary soldiers. The earliest came here after Caiser Cladious conquer of Britain. The Roman dicoese of Brittania consisted of five provinces:
Brittania Prima (Southern England)
Brittania Secunda (Middle England)
Valentia (Northern England towards Hadrian’s wall)
Flavia Caesariensis (Northern Norway, Trøndelag)
Maxina Caesariensis (Southern Norway)
Romeriket is a region north of Oslo. The name means literally, the Roman Empire. It’s likely that this is where the Roman troops were stationed. Names like Rauma and Romsdalen in the North-West also date from this period.
The production of iron was a big industry during the Roman era in Norway. Pre 50AC, most Norwegians were farmers, hunters or fishermen. The Romans had a great interest in Norway because of the excellent conditions for production of iron. Experts on this subject suggests that between 4-600.000 tons of iron was produced here during the Roman era. That was a lot more than this country possibly could need at the time. The population previous to year 1000 could not have been more than apprx. 250.000 people.
Where did these auxiliary soldiers came from?
The majority of the auxiliaries originated from the Limes (Frontier) along the river Rhine, starting by the Danube in Raetia (Switzerland), through the Rhine Valley, down to the North sea region of Frisia.
Soldiers retired after 25 years of service. They were given a Roman citizenship, and the choice of a lump sum of money or a piece of land. Those who chose the latter were given it, where the Romans wanted a Roman-friendly population. These auxiliaries settled down in England, Holland, Northern Germany, Denmark, parts of Norway and Sweden.
Some names typical of these settlements are:
Hoff / Hove : Old Germanic word for “Sacrificial temple”.
- Aal / Ahl. Old Germanic meaning “Temple”.
-Ton names, like “Hilton” or “Brighton” (Norw. Breitun). Saxon word for fenced area or enclosure.
-Ness, meaning “headland”.
Sted /Stad, meaning place.
Torp/Terp/Dorp – Meaning village.
-Bury, meaning castle, stronghold or fort, (Norw. Bry, Bæri).
DNA results
Haplogroup I1 is the most common haplogroup in Norway, ranging from 26% in the East to 45% in the South. Haplogroup I1a is, particularly associated with Germanic people. I suggest that a large percentage of migrants during the migration period were of I1 stock.
This is awesome, thanks for sharing this. Where are the sources on The Ancient Romans and West Romans in Norway?
ReplyDeleteThere aren't any sources because he made it all up.
DeleteBrittania Secunda is actually Wales, Valentia is Southern Scotland, Maxima Caesariensis is Northern England, and Flavia Caesariensis is Middle England. The Romans never established a foothold in Scandinavia.
ReplyDeleteI did my DNA and thought I was German, but my people came from Norway and Sweden. Family last name was Rector which means Teacher or Judge. I was wondering if my people came from the Roman Empire... I found that I have 1% Cameroon African too which is wild bc I look very white.
ReplyDeleteRomerike is actually not named after the Roman Empire. It is derived from Raumariki and is norse for "The Raumarens (as in people or perhaps ancient king) realm"
ReplyDelete