Albaniana

About

Albaniana was the name the ancient Romans gave a settlement on the southern banks of Rhine river, some 40 kilometers from its mouth in the North Sea, known as Alfen and modern-day Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. They built a military fort (Latin: castellum) there, as part of a range strategically built encampments, to protect and guard the river, frontier (limes) of the Roman Empire and main transport route of goods and troops. The historical map Tabula Peutingeriana situates the settlement in between Matilo (Leiden) and Praetorium Agrippinae (Valkenburg) downstream and Nigrum Pullum (Zwammerdam) and Fectio (Vechten) upstream. The village was mentioned in Antoninus' register of roads Itinerarium Antonini from the 3rd century. The fortress must have been surrounded by a wall of earth and wooden poles, with gates and watch towers.

History: The origin of Alphen aan den Rijn can be dated back to approximately 40 AD. The town that now consists of over 70,000 inhabitants was than a rural settlement with little more than 100 inhabitants. The name Albaniana means "by the white waters". These white waters likely refer to the Old Rhine, where the army camp was situated.