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Velzeke-Ruddershove is a double village in the Denderstreek

Denderstreek

The Denderstreek or Denderland is a region in the heart of Belgium. It is named after the river Dender. Though the river stretches over three provinces, Hainaut, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant, the region called after the river is situated in East-Flanders. The Dutch word streek means region....

 in the province of East Flanders

East Flanders

East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...

 in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, currently part of the municipality of Zottegem

Zottegem

Zottegem is a municipality located in Belgium and more particularly in Flanders, in the province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Zottegem proper and the villages of Elene, Erwetegem, Godveerdegem, Grotenberge, Leeuwergem, Oombergen, Sint-Goriks-Oudenhove,...

.

The two villages of Velzeke and Ruddershove were merged in 1825. Settlement in Velzeke goes back at least to Roman times, when it was a vicus

Vicus (Rome)

In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...

 situated at a crossroads in the network of Roman roads in Gallia Belgica

Gallia Belgica

Gallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica, the Belgae, consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes...

.

Velzeke hoard

A hoard of third-century Roman coins has been discovered at Velzeke, including 91 denarii

Denarius

In the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...

 (ranging in date from the reign of Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...

 to that of Gordian III

Gordian III

Gordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...

) and 93 antoniniani

Antoninianus

The antoninianus was a coin used during the Roman Empire thought to have been valued at 2 denarii. It was initially silver, but was slowly debased to bronze. The coin was introduced by Caracalla in early 215 and was a silver coin similar to the denarius except that it was slightly larger and...

 (ranging in date from the reign of Elagabalus

Elagabalus

Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa...

 to that of Postumus

Postumus

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman emperor of Batavian origin. He usurped power from Gallienus in 260 and formed the so-called Gallic Empire...

).

Sources

• L. van Durme, Toponymie van Velzeke-Ruddershove en Bochoute, 2 parts in 3 volumes. Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde, ser. 6, no. 117. Ghent, 1986-1988. ISBN 9072474015 ISBN 907247404X
• J. van Heesch and J. Deschieter, De Gallo-Romeinse vicus te Velzeke II. Een muntschat uit de tijd van keizer Postumus (Zottegem, 2000).
• Marcel Thirion, “Le trésor de Zottegem - Velzeke II: argent jusqu’à Postume”, Cercle des Etudes Numismatiques. Bulletin 11:1 (1974), pp. 12-15.
• Marcel Thirion, “Le trésor de Zottegem - Velzeke III: bronzes jusqu’à Hadrien”, Cercle des Etudes Numismatiques. Bulletin 11:2 (1974), p. 70.

External links

• Webpage at Reocities

• Webpage at Internet Archives