GORINCHEM – The archaeologists at the construction site of V&D on the Gorcumse Chalk Street found a fourteenth-century murder weapon this week. Whether someone was actually killed with it is no longer known. But that the 27-centimeter-long dagger was forged for that purpose is beyond dispute.
Dagger, iron with tinned cross-guard, 14de century
Volunteer Wim Becks, who, through his contacts with the research and consultancy agency BAAC found the dagger with his metal detector at the excavation site in Gorinchem. The dagger stood upright in the ground, as if someone had driven it into the ground with force, like the sword Excalibur. In contrast to the mythological sword, the dagger was easy to remove. Cleaning it is still more problematic. Amateur archaeologist Martin Veen of the Archaeological Working Group of the municipality of Gorinchem placed the find in a container with soda. "Just soda, with a piece of zinc, so that a chemical reaction is started that cleans the dagger. Even before we started the conservation, it was clear that it was a special specimen.
At first, Veen suspected that the Gorcum dagger was similar to an example that was found in Leiden in the early nineties. However, inquiries revealed that this fourteenth-century stabbing weapon was fitted with copper fittings, while the Gorcum find may be made of silver. “We are not entirely certain yet, but at first glance the tread plate – the part that shields your hand from the blade – appears to be silver-plated. If this is indeed the case, it is an expensive example that not everyone would have carried around.”
Pig skeleton possibly used as building sacrifice.
If the dagger turns out not to be silver-plated, the archaeologists and volunteers can still claim that they have dug up the oldest silver in Gorcum on the Krijtstraat. During the excavation work, a small silver ring was found that was made in the fifteenth century. This week, there was also excitement about a somewhat macabre find: the skeleton of a complete pig with three legs. Whether the animal simply did not have a fourth leg due to a freak of nature, or whether it was lost during the excavation work, is not clear. "In the end, the skeleton turned out not to be as intact as we initially assumed," says Veen. "After we had sponged the bones clean, the pig appeared to be missing part of its skull and also a number of bones. Not a historical disaster, but it would have been funny if the animal had indeed been complete," says Veen. He is happier with the fourteenth-century gray storage jar. "It emerged from the ground almost intact. And you don't make such finds often."
The first finds may be on display in the Gorcums Museum in the course of next week. The Archaeological Working Group is working on setting up a small exhibition.
Anja Broeken
The Dordrecht resident
September 14, 2002