This study is the result of my research, carried out as a PhD-researcher at the Archaeological Centre of the VU University and the research institute CLUE between 2006 and 2010. I successfully defended the original thesis in September 2011. My research forms part of a broader research programme titled ‘Roman villa landscapes in the North: Economy, Culture and Lifestyles’. This programme was financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), for which my gratitude. Furthermore, without the support of a considerable number of people, this study would not have been written. First and foremost I would like to express great gratitude to my promotor Prof. Nico Roymans for his support, trust and the good atmosphere of both academic and personal interaction. Special thanks also to Ton Derks, my co-promotor, for always being there for advice and a critical view. Both were part of the villa research group also including myself and my two direct PhD-colleagues: Karen Jeneson and Laura Crowley. Without these latter two the four years of research would not have been so inspiring, fun and unforgettable. One of the things I will always remember is our tour on foot through the ‘villa landscape’ from Tongres to Cologne. I would like to thank my other ‘roommates’ Stijn Heeren and Philip Verhagen and my colleagues at the archaeological centre and VUhbs: Henk Hiddink, Joris Aarts, Jean-Paul Crielaard, Mieke Prent, Antoine Mientjes, Mikko Kriek, Fokke Gerritsen, Ingmar Elstrodt, Julie Van Kerckhove, Cees Koot, Elbrich de Boer, Mara Wesdorp, Maaike Groot and Wouter Vos for their support and their contribution to a marvellous working atmosphere. Thanks also to Jan Slofstra, Fokke Gerritsen, Laura Kooistra, Gerard Tichelman, Anouk Veldman, Lourens van der Feijst and Jeremy Taylor for their contribution in the form of discussion, data or figures. I am grateful to Prof. Greg Woolf, for his stimulating role as advisor of the research programme, and to Prof. Wim De Clercq, Prof. Tom Bloemers, Prof. Jürgen Kunow, Henk Hiddink as well as some anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Thanks to Bert Brouwenstijn for his work on the layout of this book; to Jaap Fokkema for his work on the distribution maps and to Leonie Abels and Annette Visser (Wellington, NZ) for correcting the English.