Temple of Empel

The Temple of Empel is a small sanctuary dedicated to Hercules Magusanus, supreme god of the Batavians, which was erected around the beginning of our era. It was discovered in April 1986 by the amateur archaeologist, Jan van Bergen from the neighbouring village of Engelen in a field just outside the current North Brabant village of Empel. In the vicinity of the remains, many finds from that time have been made, such as cloak pins and Roman coins, as well as used weapons. Since it was highly unusual in the Roman Empire to sacrifice weapons to gods, it is unlikely that it was a Roman sanctuary, but rather for the Batavian auxiliaries to worship their supreme god. The veterans of the Batavian army units ritually laid down their arms as a thank you for the protection the god had given them during their military careers.

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