Ruiten en ranken: wandschilderingen in het militair hospitaal van het Romeinse castellum te Oudenburg / Windows and tendrils: murals in the military hospital of the Roman castellum in Oudenburg

Between 2001 and 2005, the VIOE (now Immovable Heritage) carried out large-scale archaeological research at the southwest corner of the Roman castellum of Oudenburg. It produced a refined fort chronology of five consecutive camp phases, dating from the late 2nd century to the beginning of the 5th century AD. Moreover, the excavations gave a lot of information about the spatial organization and architectural interpretation of a rather large area within the camp walls throughout the various fort periods. The collection of findings that the research produced is unique, both in quantitative terms and in terms of chronology. This certainly also applies to the plaster fragments, of which about 53,500 have been collected on the site. The majority appears to come from the military hospital from the second fort period (first half of the 3rd century). In this light, the results of the first study presented here are above expectations. The decoration of the southern corridor of the military hospital could be reconstructed as well as completely. Three decorations or decoration schemes have been recognized on this wall. The second large ensemble, which functioned secondarily as a foundation for a workshop from the fourth fort, could also be reconstructed to a large extent. Moreover, this decoration could be assigned to the presumed sacellum of the hospital. Finally, a clearer picture emerges of the other, often simpler, paintings with which the walls of the complex have been decorated. In addition to insight into the decorations, the research also provided new knowledge about the architecture of the building that stood here in the second fort. It has also become clear that an important part of the murals has been finished with care and precision. In addition, the research carried out makes an important contribution to the knowledge about interior decorations of 3rd century military sites in our regions. Especially few examples have been published for the province of Gallia Belgica.