In the village of Herwen-Hemeling, which belongs to the town of Zevenaar, amateur archaeologists first discovered the first objects at the end of last year and alerted the authorities. On further investigation, experts discovered a place near a hill at the confluence of the Rhine with a smaller river.
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According to the Dutch archeological society RAAP, such a large and complete complex with a temple building has never been found in this country before.
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At least two temples
In Roman times, moreover, there were at least two temples, and according to archaeologists, Roman soldiers worshiped their gods from the 1st to the 4th century.
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The finding of colorfully painted walls, temples with roof tiles or dozens of small altars, through which the soldiers thanked Hercules, Jupiter or Mercury for fulfilling their wishes, is remarkable. A large stone well, in which there was a staircase that led to the water, could also have a special function.
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The shrine was used mainly by soldiers. This is evidenced by the numerous finds of roof tiles and tiles with embossed marks – stoves were then the domain of soldiers. There were also pieces of horse harnesses, spearheads and other military equipment on the site.
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Several Roman shrines have been found in the Netherlands before. The first major discoveries were made in 1985 by chance during clay mining.
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On the northern border of the Roman Empire
The newly discovered complex once stood on the very northern border of the Roman Empire, known as the Limes Romanus.
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The artifacts found will be exhibited by the Het Valkhof museum in Nijmegen from Saturday, according to Reuters.
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