The discovery of this ancient sacred site was described as “exceptional” no less than seven times in the Dutch archaeologist’s press release. Inside one of the remaining intact Roman temples, excavators unearthed several sacred stones dedicated to various gods and goddesses.
Despite the fact that monotheistic religions existed within the territory, such as Judaism and early Christianity, the Roman Empire remained a polytheistic civilization. This means that people visited stone temples and open-air temples to worship countless gods and goddesses through stone reliefs, statues, and stones used as altars.
Herwen-Hemeling is an archaeological site in the municipality of Zevenaar, in Gelderland (Guelders in English), a province in the east-central region of the Netherlands. Between the 1st and 4th centuries, the area served as the Roman front line, and it was at the junction where the Rhine meets the Waal that in 2021 archaeologists discovered a protected area. Rome’s sacred remains were “relatively intact”.
The stone altar and pillars were excavated on site. ( RAAP )
The Start of Something “Special”
Two years ago, a team of archaeologists from RAAP identified sacred structures at Herwen-Hemeling, near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Danube Limes. This 600 km (373 mi) long Dutch enclave represented almost the entire Danube frontier of the Roman Empire. And while the stones from most Roman buildings were stripped and reused after the fall of the Empire in the 5th century, for some reason the site was left intact.
According to a recent RAAP press release, “several temples” were built on what researchers call “exceptional” sites. Since 2021, excavators have unearthed piles of painted plaster, broken statues and carved reliefs depicting a series of gods and goddesses they also described as “exceptional”. And they also described the discovery of several complete altars dedicated to various gods and goddesses as “exceptional.”
The head of a statue of a Roman god was found at this site. ( RAAP )
A special sacred site for Roman soldiers
The Romans, like most other cultures, often built their sacred sites on high ground. This was also to avoid floods as well as to be closer to the gods and goddesses. The Romans at Herwen-Hemeling not only built their religious complex on the local elevation but then artificially raised its elevation. Charcoal shows that large sacrificial fires were lit around the temples on top of the mound, which at night would have created a particularly terrifying sight for the surrounding tribes.
According to an article in Smithsonian Mag, in 2021, when archaeologists first began excavating at the site, they discovered “spears, spears, military armor, and horse harnesses ”. Furthermore, many seals on the roof tiles were discovered leading to the conclusion that the site was mainly used by soldiers. Stacked Roman roof tiles were known as “imbrex and tegula,” and builders working with Roman legions always printed the insignia of their legions on the back of the tiles. wet clay.
Tile stamps on the roof show that this site was used by soldiers. ( RAAP )
A valuable addition to Limes’ story
Archaeologists have so far found evidence of at least two stone temples. The first is the Gallo-Roman temple with its “painted walls” and tiled roof, but the second temple is by far the most spectacular with its “beautifully painted walls.” Near the center of this building, a particularly large rock believed to have a “special” function and a stone staircase that allowed worshipers to access the water were identified.
In this sanctuary, researchers found several dozen small altars (votive stones). Each stone was dedicated to one of three gods: Hercules Magusanus, Jupiter-Serapis and Mercury. Hercules Magusanus was a Romano-Germanic god, or mythological hero, worshiped in the early first millennium AD in the Lower Rhine region. Jupiter-Serapis was a Greco-Egyptian god and Mercury was the messenger and patron of travelers, merchants, thieves and swindlers.
According to a RAAP press release, these deeply sacred stones were placed in place by high-ranking Roman soldiers “taking oaths” to their chosen gods. Researchers say these offerings show a lot of “migration” happening at the time because the soldiers who made these offerings worked in Hungary, Spain and Africa, and “they brought their gods with them…” Deputy Minister of Heritage Peter Drenth said Gelderland had unexpectedly acquired a special Roman site which he considered a “valuable addition” to the story about the Romans in Limes.
One of many altar stones dedicated to 3 different Roman gods. ( RAAP )
This ancient site is seven times “Special.”
I did a quick count and the RAAP press release uses the word “exceptional” 7 times in relation to the discoveries at the Roman sanctuary at Herwen-Hemeling. This is perhaps reasonable since it is not only the most complete Roman religious complex ever found in the Netherlands but is also filled with votive stones and organic remains of dishes offered to many gods and goddess.
If all this is not enough to establish that this is indeed a “special” sacred site, no other Roman temple in the Netherlands has ever had such a large number of loose limestone sculptures like that. In fact, the statement said the amount of limestone recovered from these two temples “is unprecedented.” But the number one reason this place is considered “special” is because of its location. While Roman sacred sites such as Elst, Nijmegen, Empel and Aardenburg have all been excavated in the Netherlands, this is the “first” temple to be excavated directly on the borders of the Roman Empire (Limes ), the Germanic defensive border where the armies of the ancient Roman Empire drew their line in the sand.
