Outside of the fort and city were a handful of native-Roman hamlets, farming settlements which combined both Iron Age and Roman characteristics. One such hamlet was Oosterhout (Van Boetzelerstraat), a collection of wooden farmhouses with an extensive network of drainage canals. Houses were set on the highest elevations, with outbuildings, including a cemetery, at lower levels. The settlement included a ditch and a partial palisade surrounding the buildings, which may have included a defensive function.
Oosterhout's farmhouses were not unlike the local structures: two-roomed and rectangular, with a central row of posts supporting the roof. Each house was approximately 5-6 meters (16-20 feet) wide by up to 36 m (120 ft) long. Other buildings (it is unclear whether these are outbuildings or residences) lack internal posts and range from 7.5-18 m (25-60 ft) in length. Walls for these buildings were made of wood, and chinked with wattle and daub.
The two largest and earliest farmhouses were built about the first century AD. Although dozens of farm buildings have been identified at Oosterhout, scholars calculate that a wooden structure would only last 30-40 years. Oosterhout was occupied for approximately 300 years and probably contained no more than five farms at a time. Each farm had a yard of about 1 hectare (2.5 acres), with a kitchen garden and well, and pastures to tend cattle and horses.
