Albaniana (Roman fort)

Albaniana was the name of a Roman fort (castellum) in modern-day Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. The Tabula Peutingeriana situates it in between the castella of Matilo and Nigrum Pullum. It was part of the Lower Germanic Limes and separated the Roman empire from tribal country to the north.

The origin of the village Alphen aan den Rijn can be dated back to approximately two thousand years ago. The village that now consists of nearly a hundred thousand inhabitants was once only a fraction of that. It was a Roman colony, named a castellum.The name Castellum Albaniana means ‘colony by the white waters’. These white waters likely refer to the Old Rhine, where the armycamp was situated.

A dendrochronological dating of the wood enables us to say that the fort was built after the state visit of Caligula to Germania Inferior in AD 40-41. The wooden building was meant to protect the ‘limes’; the Roman border consisting of the Rijn. Caligula built this fort with the idea of crossing over to Great Britain; regrettably this was not accomplished during his reign, although his successor Claudius succeeded. The building was an isolated outpost, few colonies were located nearby. The complex was exclusively made of wood. It had wooden outer walls and wooden watchtowers. Outside the walls canals were dug. This wall was approximately a hundred and twenty meters long and eighty meters wide. During the Revolt of the Batavi (between AD 69 and 70) the wall was demolished by the Cananefates; this was later rebuilt after the rebellion had been quelled. Around 160 AD, the wooden wall had been replaced by a brick wall. It was around this time that a new entrance gate was built, carrying an inscription referring to Emperor Septimius Severus. The reason for this was that Emperor Severus himself had given the order to repair the damages inflicted on the wall. During its glory days, the army camp consisted of approximately four hundred soldiers. All of which brought their families with them.

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