Sculpture Brittenburg Katwijk aan Zee - Katwijk aan Zee

A Roman border fortress once stood between Katwijk and Noordwijk. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the ruins were visible at low tide. The remains were permanently swallowed by the sea in 1752. At the time, the people of Katwijk mistakenly thought it was the old fortress 'Burg te betten' or Brittenburg. Only later was it established that it must really have been a Roman border fort.
This 2010 sculpture by sculptor Nicolas Dings recalls that ancient fortress on the northern border of the Roman Empire. Three bronze sculptural groups of Roman soldiers stand ready to fight on a round table made of Corten steel. The scene is based on the legend, written by writer Suetonius, about soldiers of emperor Caligula. They stood on the beach ready to do battle with the sea. To then celebrate their 'victory' over the water, the emperor is said to have had a tall lighthouse built. Katwijk fishermen told centuries later that their nets at sea regularly got stuck at a place they called Kalla's tower: Caligula's lighthouse.

A map of the fort is engraved in the table and the table edge reads: Kalla's tower, born here, sought neptune's wrath. All the sea he would possess and fight to Briton home.
Artist Nicolas Dings (Tegelen, 1953) is not only a sculptor but also a painter and draughtsman. In Amsterdam, Utrecht, Zwolle and Maastricht, among other places, there are sculptures created by him in public spaces. His best-known work is probably the metre-high statue of philosopher Spinoza in a long cloak with birds right next to the Amsterdam Stopera.