The discovery of this ancient sacred site was described as “special” no less than seven times in the Dutch archaeologist’s press release. Inside one of the intact Roman temples the excavators unearthed several sacred stones dedicated to a host of different gods and goddesses.
Despite the fact monotheistic religions existed within the territory, such as Judaism and early Christianity, the Roman Empire was greatly a polytheistic civilization. This meant people visited stone temples and outdoor shrines to worship a multitude of gods and goddesses through stone reliefs, statues and rocks that served 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 this region served as the Romans' front line, and it was at the junction where the Rhine meets the River Waal that in 2021 archaeologists discovered a “relatively intact” sacred Roman sanctuary.
