In the Roman Age, the river has been connected with the Rhine. The river was cut off from the Rhine later. The area where the Rhine was connected to the Rotte changed into an area of bog. After all the bog was excavated, the area changed into a swamp, this swamp was the new source of the Rotte. In the 17th century the swamp area is empoldered, and the Rotte did not have a source anymore.