sentences:  The current village covers areas that were separated by the river Maas until a permanent dam was built around 1270, from which the village took its name.However, archaeological findings have indicated that the area hosted significant human habitations as early as the start of the Roman Flavian dynasty.Excavations in several locations have suggested that there was a large Roman settlement in the Maasdam area (on the northern shore of the river) probably from around 70 AD.