In October 2023, a special find was made during work on the Dalemsedijk and the waterway behind the Fortes Lyceum in Gorinchem. Twelve heavy stone balls with a diameter of up to 50 cm emerged from the river clay. Presumably leftover 'war ammunition' from the time of the Arkel Wars (1401-1412).
Heavy war ammunition found along the Dalemsedijk
The bullets were a few hundred meters away from the spot where the castle of the lords of Arkel stood until 1412. The castle came under attack during the Siege of Gorinchem in 1402 under fire. Which explains why bullets have been found in this area before. The very first report of a discovery of foundations, pottery and bullets dates from 1815. That year, the connection between the city centre and the Dalemsedijk was realised. The new section of the dike partly came to lie over the foundations of the castle. Also during the construction of houses on the Kasteelplaats in 1977 and during the dike reinforcement in 1996 large stone balls came to light. But the recent discovery of this large group of balls lying together is so far unique and also quite special in our country. Usually still usable balls were collected again after a siege. Possibly these balls ended up in the water and there was no time for this.
Stone balls on the outer bailey grounds in 1996
Arkel Wars
De Arkel Wars (1401-1412) played during the Hook and Cod Twists (1350-1490) and arose from the long-term conflict between the Count of Holland Albert of Bavaria en Jan V of Arkel. The fighting consisted mainly of arson and plundering of each other's possessions. The citizens in the cities remained relatively safe, protected behind city walls. For the population in the villages it was a terrible time. The losses in the countryside caused food shortages and eventually led to famine among the population of Gorcum.
The plundering of a village in the 15th century
Siege of Gorinchem
The first major feat was the Siege of Gorinchem by Albrecht of Bavaria in 1402. Van Bavaria demanded that Jan van Arkel acknowledge him as lord and publicly make a genuflection. The Dutch flag also had to be displayed on the church tower from then on.
Albrecht sent his urban armies military expedition to Gorinchem and also managed to get troops out of the Holy Roman Empire. Then Found Utrecht, Zeeland, County of Hainaut en Gelre to mobilize. In addition, he hired English soldiers. Van Beieren reportedly gathered over 6000 men, who besieged the city and the castle for 11-12 weeks.
Coats of arms of the 122 participants in the Siege of Gorinchem in 1402 in the Bavarian Armorial by Claes Heinenz. (between 1402 and 1405). Collection Royal Library, The Hague.
During the siege, the troops surrounded and isolated the city and tried to cause as much damage as possible. The Gorcumers responded by throwing quicklime at their besiegers. In September, the siege came to an abrupt end. Count Albrecht had to unexpectedly return to the court in The Hague. The battle ended in Jan van Arkel's favor. And the Dutch flag flew on the church tower for only one day.
The Siege of a Castle by Jehan de Grise (1338-1410)
Stone bushings
Stone buses (also called 'bombards' ) were made of heavy wrought iron rods around which a gunsmith forged iron hoops with great skill. The result resembled an elongated iron barrel. Despite the high production costs, many cities had one or more canisters around 1400. The most famous is the Dull Griet from Ghent, also 'the big red devil' called. This colossus was over five meters long and originally weighed over 12.500 kilos. The bombarde could fire stone projectiles with a diameter of 64 cm and an (estimated) weight of up to 295 kg. The canisters often had a name. During the siege of Hagestein In 1405 the Dutch cities brought Griet, Roosje and Luyntje with them.
A bombardment in the collection of the Rijksmuseum and the Dulle Griet on a square in Ghent
The stone cans, often weighing several thousand kilos, were difficult to transport. Before the siege, the can was hoisted onto a wooden block. Rows of poles behind the block anchored the whole thing in the ground, to prevent as much recoil as possible. Adjusting the position in between to shoot more precisely at a target was hardly an option.
Loading and firing
Loading and firing was certainly not without danger. The besiegers therefore protected themselves behind wooden partitions. In addition, it was necessary to prevent the canister from exploding when it was fired. It was therefore important that the gunpowder, a mixture of sulphur, saltpetre and charcoal, was used on location in exactly the right proportions.
The siege of Nancy in 1477 (detail) with a stone box on the right, behind which a pole construction to prevent recoil. The besiegers protect themselves behind wooden partitions.
If there was too much gunpowder, the canister would explode, often with fatal consequences for the people around it. Each stone canister had a canister master and a few servants who were familiar with the contraption. As specialists, they were paid better than an average soldier and also received an extra bonus for a direct hit.
Loading was also a time-consuming task. The powder chamber behind the barrel was filled two-thirds full with powder and then closed at the top with a lime or poplar plug, on which the bullet rested. The plug served to hold back the gases when the powder ignited until sufficient pressure had built up to shoot the bullet far away. To promote this, the bullet was secured in the barrel with wedges and plugged with cloth, rope, clay and sand.
To prevent the cast iron from overheating, the canister had to cool down after each shot. As a result, only one or two shots were possible per day. Each shot was accompanied by a huge bang and a lot of smoke. The besieged usually saw the stones coming well in time. Stone canisters were mainly intended to cause as much destruction as possible.
Siege of a city in Calibria and the Siege of Orléans (1429)
Bullets
Stone bullets were made by stonemasons from tough, homogeneous types of stone such as sandstone, granite, trachyte and basalt. The recently found bullets are made of basalt stone, possibly originating from the Hunsrück in Germany. The stones were cut with a special tool, a bouchard, worked to the correct dimensions. It was of course of great importance that the balls fit as well as possible in the fragile cast iron stone bushings. To achieve this, the stonemason used a wooden template, in which the desired circumference of the ball was sawn out. With this he could continuously check the correct dimensions and curves during the work.
The bullets along the Dalemsedijk appear to be roughly hewn. The shape is not perfectly round. It is difficult to see to what extent they were previously damaged. The smallest bullet has a maximum diameter of 42 cm. The largest is Ø 50 cm. The weight varies between 101 and approximately 162 kg per bullet.
The twelve basalt stone balls
Around 1400, the barrel length of larger stone cans was 1-1,5 times the bullet diameter. Shortly thereafter, barrels with a length of 3 times the bullet diameter came into use. Behind the barrel was the powder chamber, which was about 2-3 times the bullet diameter long.
Location of discovery
Duke Adolf of Cleves and squire Walraven van Brederode were during the siege with most of the troops from the Dutch cities and English mercenaries on the east side near the castle and the Dalemsedijk. It is obvious that they threw up temporary fortifications there to protect the men from the fire from the castle. We do not know, but it is of course not implausible that one or more stone boxes were also set up.
The red frame schematically shows the probable location of the castle.
The bullets were found approximately 200 metres from the spot where the Arkel castle once stood. This was at a sufficient distance to avoid the shelling from the castle during the siege. A stone can had an average range of 100 metres. Despite all the display of violence, the damage to the castle walls, which were partly over two metres thick, was not too bad. However, the tower of the main castle was destroyed.
Investigation report
Commissioned by the Count Reinald Alliance accompanied Vestigia Archeology & Cultural History all dike works. The report appeared in 2025.
 | Aart Bijl (1986) The Arkel War (1401-1412). A feud between Jan van Arkel and Willem van Beieren, Count of Holland, Merewade Series 9, Gorinchem. WorldCat | PDF (10 MB) |
 | RM Brouwer, M. Berkouwer, W. Jongbloed et al. (2025) Dike section 14 GOWA in Gorinchem. An excavation variant Archaeological Supervision as part of the dike reinforcement project. Vestigia Archeology & Cultural History report number V2876, Amersfoort. PDF (11 MB) |
 | CJ van Dijk (2025) Large bombards, iron nut snakes, and metal carropes. The development of medieval firearm artillery in the Netherlands, 1340–1550. In: A. Doornmalen, T. Hermans, J. Kamphuis et al. (eds.), A rampart around a castle. Lectures delivered during a symposium at Ammersoyen Castle on March 29, 2025. Koudekerk aan den IJssel, pp. 17-38. PDF (29 MB) |
 | MJ Waale (1990) The Arkel War, 1401-1412. A political, military and economic analysis, Medieval Studies and Sources 17, Hilversum. WorldCat |