Archaeological sources make it impossible to deny that rivers served as pathways in the past. Conversely, the role of inland waterways in the Roman transport economy of northern Gaul has received little scholarly attention. This paper introduces a historical archaeological study of the transport network of the Roman-era Scheldt basin (presentday north-western Europe), with an emphasis on the role of waterways. As a starting point, this study works from the hypothesis of an integrated transport network, in which rivers, roads, and seaways link up to form a single system.
