Editing Lokeren (section)

=== Origins ===
[[File:Archive-ugent-be-04B7CF4C-DE27-11E9-90E8-B723765DA7FD DS-135 (2).jpg|left|thumb|334x334px|Excerpt from the manuscript of the [[Chronicle]] of Lokeren. Written by Nicolaes de Smet, 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kroniek van Lokeren|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:04B7CF4C-DE27-11E9-90E8-B723765DA7FD#?c=&m=&s=&cv=66&xywh=-685,0,11607,6481|access-date=2020-08-27|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]
[[File:Lokeren 1569.png|thumb|right|Center of Lokeren according to a 1569 sketch]]
Archaeological finds on the Lokeren territory prove that this area was populated in [[Neolithic]] times. A [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] road ran along the Durme river. The name ''[[Waasland|Waas]]'' was given to this area by the Romans from the Germanic root ''Wasu'' meaning "marshy land". The first mention of the name Lokeren, however, dates from 1114.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Bondt |first1=Frans |title=Lokerse straten & co |date=2014 |publisher=Culturele Raad Lokeren |isbn=9789081364638 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-5VtAEACAAJ}}</ref> Unlike the older settlements, the new village came to be built on the right bank of the Durme. By the middle of the 12th century, it had become an independent parish, with agriculture and [[flax]] as the two main drivers of the economy. The textile industry would remain important until well into the 20th century.