Matilo

Matilo or Matilone was once a Roman fort (castellum) in modern-day Leiden [1]. Positioned on the southern banks of the Oude Rijn, it served to protect the Roman borders in the province of Germania Inferior (Limes Germanicus) [1]. On the Peutinger map, it lies between the encampments of Albaniana (Alphen aan den Rijn) and Praetorium Agrippinae (Valkenburg) [1]. The first Romans arrived at the site in 47 AD as part of a larger operation to reinforce the Germanic lines [1]. In order to increase the efficiency of supply chains and communication lines within his army, general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo had a canal built (known as the Fossa Corbulonis, or Corbulo's Canal), connecting the Meuse and Rhine [1]. Matilo was erected there, at the meeting place of the Oude Rijn and the newly dug canal, because of its strategic importance [1]. Archaeological evidence seems to suggest that the Romans only constructed the fort itself somewhere at around 70 AD, whereas a small watchtower might have taken its place in the years before [1].