 Tongeren was a major town on several notable east-west Roman routes including Amiens-Bavay-Tongeren-Maastricht-Heerlen-Cologne, which was a very important route, and Boulogne-Kortrijk-Tienen-Tongeren, which ran just to the south of the modern main road running Tienen-St Truiden-Borgloon-Tongeren, through the villages of Overhespen, Helshoven, and Bommershoven.The more fertile areas south of these roads were more heavily populated and more fully Romanized.In the sandy north of the "Civitas", the so-called Campine (Dutch "Kempen") was less fertile, and less populated.