Audio tour Archeology

Late Iron Age (300-12 BC)

Our landscape was formed after the last ice age of about 10,000 years ago. After thousands of years of vegetations being flooded regularly by sea or river, a thick layer of peat was formed. Through this moorland flowed several rivers that were protected on both sides by levees of sand and clay.

The landscape was very fertile. Therefore several game species such as deer, otter and beaver lived here. Because the rivers contained many types of fish (even the sturgeon could be found here), people in the Iron Age settled  on the levees so they could fish easily. They lived in farm steadings and made a living from small-scale agriculture, fishing and hunting.

 The Young Convent

In 1988 the walls of the Young Convent were about to collapse; the decision was made to bring the walls down and do archaeological research. Important elements of the convent came to light such as the foundations of several workhouses and the dormitory. Also two cesspools were found on the terrain. The content gave a nice glance of the daily life in a nunnery of the 15the century. Jugs, bowls, cooking pots and chamber pots were found among other things.

Under the foundations, on a layer of sand, a few pottery sherds from the 12th century were found. This shows that this part of the town is one of the oldest areas.

To look for the oldest habitation of Weesp we have to go to the Aetsveldseweg. Objects dating back to the late Iron Age were found there.

City Archeology

The city archaeologist is often consulted when big renovations must take place, or after demolition of old buildings. In the centre of Weesp cesspools are regularly being discovered, which provides a wealth of information. Not only food waste like eggshells, shells and animal bones, also broken drinking mugs, cooking pots, pipe bowls and such. These findings can tell us many stories about the standard of living of the former city dwellers.

A good example of an excavation like this is the excavation of the Young Convent.

Archeology

When one has to build in the city and one has to dig into the ground, for instance to lay the foundations, it is quite possible that objects from the past could be damaged. The municipality will ask a city archaeologist to investigate if objects of historical value can be found on the buildingsite.

The city archaeologist will first consult historical sources. After he has deduced what had happened in the past on the buildingsite, he can start a targeted search for objects in the soil.