Flevum

Roman fort and harbour site in Velsen, North Holland – the northernmost point of Augustus' military push, now a below-ground archaeological monument.

Flevum was a Roman fort and fortified harbour on the North Sea coast, located in what is now the city of Velsen in North Holland. It was established under Augustus as part of his campaign to push Roman control east of the Rhine into Germanic territory. Ancient writers including Tacitus name Flevum explicitly, and excavations since 1945 have confirmed the identification of the site. Today it is a protected archaeological monument with no visible remains above ground; the experience is largely one of context – knowing this was the northernmost point of the Roman advance, the same harbour through which Germanicus retreated in AD 16.