Finds after 1970
On 14 April 1970m fisherman K. J. Bout found parts of an altar to Nehalennia in his nets while fishing near Colijnsplaat. Focused searches in 1970, 1971, and 1974 resulted in the find of about 240 altars and statues, votive stones and remains of a Roman building. These are now stored and displayed in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. These were found in the Schaar of Colijnsplaat, a fairway in the Eastern Scheldt, where the temple of Nehalennia once stood.
The names of the persons who dedicated the statues and altars show that they were merchants from Italy, Cologne, Trier and Britain. They traded in salt, fish sauce, and textiles. Other wares included ceramics from the area around the Rhine, terracotta figurines from Cologne and Trier, and wine from Southern France and the Mosel. One inscription found translates to: "Before Nehalennia, Marcus Exingius Agricola, citizen of Trier, salt merchant in Cologne, has fulfilled his promise, willing and with reason." The majority of the votive offerings were donated by merchants to beseech the goddess for safe passage to Britannia.
In the period after the year 300, the temple disappeared into the Schaar of Colijnsplaat, near the settlement of Ganventa. Since 1999, a group of Flemish amateur archaeologists belonging to the Landelijke Werkgroep Archeologie Onder Water (National Work Group of Underwater Archaeology) has worked to map the bottom of the sea, around the location where the temple disappeared beneath the waves. A replica of the temple was built in Colijnsplaat in 2004.
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