Tolsteeg 6 (2018)

Tolsteeg 6

Commissioned by Van Es Architects, Transect BV in July 2018 an archaeological desk study (BO) was carried out in a plan area at Tolsteeg 6 in Gorinchem. The reason for the study is the change of function from residential shop to home with studio. Garages are also being built. The current study took place in the context of the necessary environmental permit.

Based on the zoning plan Binnenstad eo (2015), the plan area has an archaeological value (dual destination value-archaeological expectation very high LMNT1). The archaeological value may be affected in the context of the plans, given the size of the intended soil interventions. For this reason, archaeological preliminary research is required to gain insight into whether and to what extent the activities will affect the archaeological value in the plan area. This report describes the results of the preliminary research on the basis of which the municipality can make a selection decision.

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Based on the desk research, the plan area has a very high archaeological expectation of finds and/or traces from the Late Middle Ages-Modern Period due to its location in the historical centre of Gorinchem. In the vicinity of the plan area, finds from the Late Middle Ages are known and a 2,5 to 6,5 m thick fill package has been found. This fill package may be present from ground level. Historical maps show that in 1560 a moat and buildings were present in the plan area, which may date back to the Late Middle Ages. Traces and finds of this (in the moat fill) may still be present in the subsoil. The plan area borders directly on Bastion VI, which was completed in 1609 (now a national monument).

Detail map of Gorinchem by Jacob van Deventer (1558)

In addition, bank deposits of the Linge and Merwede are expected in the subsurface. The river banks of the Linge have been habitable since the Iron Age and the river banks of the Merwede since the Early Middle Ages. It is conceivable that in the top of the bank deposits, under the Medieval raising package, finds and/or traces from the Iron Age-Early Middle Ages period are still present, insofar as these have not been affected by the construction of the city of Gorinchem and its defences.
The extent to which archaeological values ​​are still actually present within the plan area depends on the degree of intactness of the archaeological soil archive. Locally, the soil archive may have been affected as a result of the realisation of the current construction. Given the thickness of the raised package in the vicinity of the plan area, archaeological finds and/or traces could still be present below it. It is not known to what extent the top of the underlying bank deposits was affected by the construction of the historical core.

Advice

Within the plan area, archaeological finds or traces from the Late Middle Ages and/or Modern Period may be present. With the planned excavation depth of a maximum of 50 cm–Mv, these archaeological values ​​may be affected. After all, the urban raising package may already be present from ground level. The value in the current zoning plan protects this value of the site.

In the future planning of the site, the building will be reoccupied and renovated above ground. No soil interventions are planned at the location of the current buildings. No additional measures are necessary, since soil interventions do not threaten the archaeological soil archive. If it is decided to remove a roof attached to the building, including the existing piles, it is recommended that the groundwork, insofar as it is below ground level, be carried out under archaeological supervision (an archaeological excavation, archaeological supervision protocol). A Programme of Requirements (PVE) is required for this work, in which the design and boundary conditions of the investigation during the work are described. This PVE must be approved by the competent authority (the municipality of Gorinchem) in advance of the work.

Archaeological guidance

Finally, there is the idea in the plan area to possibly realize a garage. This garage will be founded exclusively on steel, with a frost edge of approximately 40 to 50 cm -Mv. Because there is a very high archaeological expectation due to the location in the historical core, the follow-up research can also be carried out in the form of an excavation of the parts of the site to be disturbed (archaeological excavation, protocol archaeological supervision). Within this plan, this concerns the foundation trenches of the garage, which, based on the plans, form the only interventions in the soil for the realization of the garage. No piles will be installed. During the work, archaeologists will then partly determine the progress of the civil engineering work and can temporarily stop it in order to collect and document all archaeological traces and finds present. A Program of Requirements (PVE) is also required for this. However, it is possible to adjust the plan by preventing the current soil in the plan area from being excavated, for example by raising the part of the plan area to be built on to a limited extent so that excavation work no longer needs to take place and the value of the site in situ remains unaffected.