atlasvoice
Amateur archaeologist Arie Saakes made a spectacular discovery a few months ago. On an aerial photograph of the Royal Air Force from 1944, he thought he could see the contours of the keep of the Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower) to see.
Aerial photographs can provide a lot of interesting information about archaeological sites, but not every shot is suitable.
Arie Saakes
First of all, the photo must be taken on a clear, preferably cold, day. The time, altitude, resolution and the angle at which the shot was taken are also decisive. Moreover, without good prior knowledge of the area, it is not easy to determine what exactly you see in the photo.
Arie Saakes has been studying maps and aerial photographs for five years. At first he could not believe his eyes and then he went on to examine dozens of other aerial photographs. This eventually yielded nine other similar photographs. The recordings date from between 1933 and 1986. The quality is indeed variable, but all nine show the same round contours reflected in the water of the Duveltjesgracht.
Reconstruction of the Blue Tower location
Blue Tower Projection on Google Maps by Arie Saakes
Confirmation
The RAF photo confirms the earlier reconstructions as made by Annema (see below). It is striking that the cross-section of the keep in the photo appears smaller than previously assumed on the basis of calculations. An earlier assumption that this was possibly caused by reflection in the moat water does not hold up. Based on the design drawing by Jacob Kemp, on which the Blauwe Toren (Blue Tower) is still part of the new fortress; it seems that we see the inside of the tower, so without the walls. Kemp's map was drawn to scale. The diameter of the inside of the keep is between 26 and 27 meters. This dimension corresponds well with what we see on the aerial photograph. But in any case: without further archaeological research on site, everything remains theory for the time being.
Detail city map by Abraham Kemp (1592−1597)
Detail map Symon and Cornelis Jansz from 1592
Detail city map by Jacob van Deventer (1558)
Drawing by Jacob van Deventer projected on Google Maps
World War II
The photo was taken in the middle of the Hunger Winter in clear freezing weather (Den Bilt -3,8°). The tangle of trenches and gun pits outside the Waterpoort and on the fortress is striking. The entire area had been evacuated a month earlier and was no longer accessible to the city's residents. The ferry landing place has been circled in red chalk as a possible 'target' ?. Two months earlier, the ferry Gorinchem V had been sunk by shelling near Sleeuwijk.
For technical information about the aerial photograph see the website of Dotka Data
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