Valkenburg: Potential Claudian launching point of British Invasion?

[guy]

Most of us assume that the departure point for the Claudian Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD was Boulogne (a costal city in Northern France).

Valkenburg, Netherlands (near the coast) has been well known for its Roman archaeology since the 1930s. There was a recognized auxiliary fort at Valkenburg.

(Well-preserved barrel wood found at the Valkenburg auxiliary fort—CCAEAUGGER: Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanic)

New findings, however, have suggested a more permanent Roman fortress for legionnaires. Many aspects of a fortress (towers, gates, ramparts, etc.) have been discovered. Also discovered was glassware, suspected barracks, and two granaries that suggested a legionary presence (and not merely a temporary auxiliary force camp). The Valkenburg area also includes a burial site of more than 600 burials.

 

Some theorize that Valkenburg was not only a defensive position, but also a possible launching point for a British Invasion.

(Valkenburg is close to the Dutch city of Leiden.)

 

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The main invasion force under Aulus Plautius crossed in three divisions. The port of departure is usually taken to have been Boulogne (Latin: Bononia), and the main landing at Rutupiae (Richborough, on the east coast of Kent). Neither of these locations is certain. Dio does not mention the port of departure, and although Suetonius says that the secondary force under Claudius sailed from Boulogne, it does not necessarily follow that the entire invasion force did. 

Our fortress was definitely in existence by then, and perhaps played a role in the Claudian invasion as a supply base from the area of the River Rhine. While Roman forces are generally believed to have departed from Boulogne, there is nothing that rules out some of the men sailing from Valkenburg-Katwijk as well, thereby approaching Britannia in a kind of pincer movement.

 

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The invasion of Britain was not the only reason for legionary activity in the region during the Claudian period. We know from the ancient sources that in AD 41 a legion commanded by Gabinius retrieved the third and final lost eagle standard that had been taken by the Chaucians after the devastating Roman defeat in the Varus Battle (AD 9). Could Valkenburg have been the starting point for that expedition? This scenario seems less likely, but not entirely impossible.

Summary: The evidence suggests that Valkenburg was of greater significance for the Roman military than previously suspected. Only future research will determine whether the Roman fortress there was a launching point for the Claudian invasion of Britain.

 

 

https://the-past.com/feature/a-legionary-fortress-at-valkenburg-discovering-a-springboard-for-the-conquest-of-britannia/

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Britain#Crossing_and_landing

 

Great podcast on the newest findings at Valkenburg and their possible significance:

https://anchor.fm/the-past/episodes/Valkenburgs-Roman-fortress-a-springboard-for-the-conquest-of-Britannia-e153nm0

 

Edited February 2 by guy