GORINCHEM – On their last day in Gorcum, archaeologists have discovered foundations of thirteenth-century homes. Never before have traces of homes of the common man been found here.
Martin Veen restores a jug used as a mousetrap
So far, the foundations uncovered during the search for the Court of the Lords of Arkel in 2002 the oldest traces of construction in the city centre of Gorinchem. Just like the remains discovered yesterday, they date back to the thirteenth century. With the difference that the rich people of Gorinchem lived on the plot where the V&D is now located. "The fact that we are now finding traces of an ordinary house is very special," says Pieter Floore, senior archaeologist of Hollandia ArchaeologistsHis office is conducting research on the corner of Arkelstraat and Rosmolensteeg on behalf of the housing association Port 6. This will start next week with the reconstruction of the Bluebandhuis.
Expectations
The diverse finds on the site fully meet his expectations. “Based on a study on the corner of the Kortendijk and the Rosmolensteeg In 2007 we already had an idea of what we might find.” The archaeologists describe the uncovering of the horse mill earlier this week as special. “Thanks to a city map by Jacob Roelofs van Deventer, a cartographer who recorded all the cities in detail on behalf of Charles V, we know about the existence of the horse mill,” says Floore. It is difficult to say when the horse mill was built. “One fact is that the horse-powered milling installation was there around 1575, because the city map dates from that time.” The archaeologists and volunteers from the Archaeology Working Group of the municipality of Gorinchem came across relatively few utensils during their work. For example, no glassware was found at all. That was practically unaffordable for the common man in the Middle Ages. According to Martin Veen from the Working Group, a small water jug that emerged from the ground almost intact is clearly second choice: “Those things were mass-produced, they are the beer cans of the Middle Ages.”
Mousetrap
From 14de century earthenware water jug that also came to light, is also not a unique find. There are several in the archaeological depot of the municipality of Gorinchem. "Only this was a jug with a surprise," says Veen laughing. When emptying the jug, no fewer than fourteen mouse skeletons appeared to be in the black sludge, "So it is a medieval mousetrap." Why the Gorcumer who set the trap did not empty it remains a mystery.
Anja Broeken
AD Drechtsteden
November 12, 2011