Dutch archaeologist discover unique Roman military camp

A foundation of a watchtower
A foundation of a watchtower. Image: still video Omroep West

At the former Valkenburg Naval Air Base in the Province of Zuid-Holland, archaeologists discovered remnants of a Roman military camp dating back to the first century. The finds include a defensive wall and foundations of watchtowers. According to the Province of Zuid-Holland, the Roman military finds are “spectacular” and “unique” for the Netherlands.

Although archaeologists discovered Roman camps in the East Netherlands and along the Rhine River before, they did not expect to discover one in the West Netherlands too. Archaeologist Laurens van der Feijst said: “We did not know about this camp.”

The camp was very large, around 16 football fields large. The Romans used the camp to gather soldiers to conquer England. Archaeologist Wouter Vos explained: “Around 5000 soldiers lived in the camp. The camp existed for around four years. The soldiers left in 43 AD.”

Have a look at the finds in the video (in Dutch) below.

Source: NOS (in Dutch).

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