Romans may have used Naaldwijk as 1st century naval base

AMSTERDAM - Researchers deciphering the fragment of a bronze plaque unearthed in Naaldwijk two years ago, suggest that the now-landlocked town in the 1st century served as a base for the Roman river fleet. The text on the plaque indicates that officers of that fleet dedicated a statue in or near Naaldwijk in a region now known as Westland, between Delft and Hoek van Holland. The plaque likely was attached to the base of the statue, which itself has not yet been recovered. The Romans had dug a canal from the (old) Rhine, which then ran through Leiden, to the Meuse River near what is now Naaldwijk, then a river bank location.