René Proos

In 1992 a team of medieval historians, archaeologists, architects and architectural historians worked together on the investigation of a remarkable building in the center of the old town of Deventer, the Netherlands. It appeared the building, Sandrasteeg 8, also known as the Proosdij,  can be dendrochronologically dated to 1133 AD and is therefore the oldest stone building still standing and still in use in the Netherlands. This paper, Part III - Chapter 2 in a book dedicated to the Proosdij, presents an analysis of the archaeological data collected during the restoration of the main structure. It also contains a brief overview of the archeological material found during the 1966 excavation of the neighboring Stromarkt-site and some personal thoughts on the dating and occurrence of late-Carolingian and Ottonian pottery in the Netherlands.

In de Archeologische Kroniek wordt een overzicht gegeven van archeologische vondsten in Noord- en Zuid-Holland, per plaats. Dit wordt weergegeven in drie periodes, namelijk de Prehistorie, Romeinse Tijd en de Middeleeuwen en later. Verder staan er boekbesprekingen in en het rubriek 'Tastbaar verleden' met een artikel genaamd 'De Middeleeuwen in het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden'

The abbey of Egmond near Alkmaar (province of North Holland) has been a burial place for the counts of Holland from the 10th to the 12th century, it was destroyed during the siege of Alkmaar in 1573.
in 1904, the wealthy Amsterdam merchant Bernard de Bont had purchased part of the abbey grounds in order to carry out excavations there. De Bont was a devout Catholic, his ambition was to restore the abbey and to make the burials of the counts visible again. He was soon successful, for on the edge of his property he found “three graves built of heavy bricks, in each of which rested on a floor of small square colored and glazed tiles an intact skeleton. One of these, whose skull shows an injury, is more than likely the remains of (count) Floris I, who was beaten to death at Hemert…”

It is not clear why De Bont immediately thought of count Floris I (1049-1061) when he made his find. He had the skeletons of a man, a child and a woman examined in 1904 by Professor Bolk, an Amsterdam professor of anatomy, working at the Amsterdam university. His research showed the male skeleton must have been a very large man: 2.10 m according to the professor, who also remarked the deceased had “a serious injury to the right jaw from a sword or some other heavy instrument.”

After the examination, the skeletons were returned to their respective graves and covered up again. De Bont was unable to continue his research in 1905 and died unexpectedly in 1908. His research was never published, all we have are a few photos and drawings. Prof. Bolk also never got around to publish his findings on the 1904 skeletal material. The graves were excavated again in 1947 and in 1979. Results however were unclear and generated many questions. This article calls for new attention for the burials of Egmond, in particular the large grave 1 and the person who could be buried in it.

See also: http://geschiedenisvanzuidholland.nl/verhalen/verhalen/het-ontstaan-van-holland

In the village of Rijnsburg near Leiden a remarkable Roman bronze bowl was found in 2016. It measures more than forty centimeters in diameter and is decorated on one side with a protruding eagle's head. The inside of the bowl is decorated with floral motifs.
The bowl contained the cremated remains of three individuals: an elderly woman and two men; their internment dates to about the middle of the fourth century. The large bowl itself is older, presumably third century. It was made in a specialized workshop in the Roman Empire, most likely in Italy. The martial eagle's head suggests the bowl originally was in the possession of a high-ranking Roman civilian or officer.
When it ended up in the grave, the bowl was at least 50-100 years old. The tomb also contained burnt and molten fragments of glass, silver and gold, and two combs made out of antler.  On the basis of the deposits in the pit's profile it could be determined the pit was used twice in succession and had been lying open for a couple of weeks.
The three cremated individuals may have been of eastern European decent, as was indicated by two single-sided combs found among the remains.
Comb 1 is archaeologically complete and triangular in form,  measuring 10 by 3.5 cm. The comb is decorated with concentric circles and point-circles. Along its edge the comb has a double ribbed line. The cover plates are held together by 12 small iron nails.
On the basis of its triangular shape and its decorations the comb can be characterized as a Riha Type B, variant 1 with decorative motif A (combination of point-circles and lines). Combs of this type can be dated in the 4th century and the first half of the 5th century.
Comb 2 is not pictured in this article. Only a part of one of its cover plates and some segments of the row of teeth have survived. This comb was also decorated with point-circles and had a semicircular or bell-shaped grip. On the basis of its shape it can be assigned to either a Riha Type A or a Thomas type III. The type is known in eastern Europe from sites with a “Chernyakhov” connection, and also from sites along the Danubian limes. They are dated in the late third and the first half of the fourth century.
The bowl appears to have been used sparingly, as there are no signs of wear on the inside or the outside. However, in three places antique repairs with soldering of tin and iron can be seen.
It may be deduced from these repairs the bowl was carried around and used for some time.
To its owners, it must have been a prestigious possession.

The discovery of a 12th century chair during excavations of an old farm plus adjoining dike in a small polder near Rotterdam opens up new insights into the role of large monasteries during the era of the  reclamation and shaping of large feudal estates in Holland (period of the 10th to the 13th century).

La découverte d'une chaise du XIIème siècle lors des fouilles d'une ancienne ferme et d'une digue attenante dans un petit polder près de Rotterdam ouvre de nouvelles perspectives sur le rôle des grands monastères à l'époque de la remise en état et de la mise en forme de grands domaines féodaux en Hollande (période du Xe au XIIIe siècle).

Die Entdeckung eines Stuhls aus dem 12. Jahrhundert bei Ausgrabungen eines alten Bauernhofs und eines angrenzenden Deichs in einem kleinen Polder in der Nähe von Rotterdam eröffnet neue Einblicke in die Rolle großer Klöster in der Zeit der Rückgewinnung und Gestaltung großer feudaler Güter in Holland (Zeit der 10. bis 13. Jahrhundert).

Between 1985 and 1987 rescue-excavations were undertaken to safeguard the archaeological information contained within the structures of the large-scale Roman villa urbana of Voerendaal-Ten Hoge. The excavations took place a little to the north of the modern village of Voerendaal, in the south of the Netherlands.
In its heyday, i.e. the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, this villa urbana and all of its service buildings, sheds, enclosures etc. extended over an area of about 38,000 m2. The villa was by far the largest Roman building of the Low Countries and lay alongside the Via Belgica, the main road between Bavay and Cologne.
At the end of the 3rd century a violent incident disrupted life in and around the villa, but this incident did not bring about a hiatus in the occupation of the villa.
Most of the complex was in a state of decay after the incident. Parts of the main building appear to have been damaged in such a way it was no longer possible to live there. But a large brick barn in the south-east wing was still standing, and still in use. And amidst the ruins of the main building a solid square building  with 1.5 m thick walls was erected.
Around AD 300 two simple wooden buildings were erected in the former garden of the villa, very close to the large barn which was still standing and continued to be in use until the beginning of the 5th century. Close to the houses five largely disturbed cremation-graves were discovered, as well as a the remains of one inhumation. Pottery from the graves suggests they date in the late 3rd and early 4th century, and belong to people of “Germanic” ancestry.
This article however focuses on a very mysterious large pit found right at the intersection of four excavation trenches at the Voerendaal-site, and argues this pit is evidence of a rare "Germanic" building tradition.

In 1992 a team of medieval historians, archaeologists, architects and architectural historians worked together on the investigation of a remarkable building in the center of the old town of Deventer, the Netherlands. It appeared the building, Sandrasteeg 8, also known as the Proosdij,  can be dendrochronologically dated to 1133 AD and is therefore the oldest stone building still standing and still in use in the Netherlands. This paper, Part VI - Chapter 1 in a book dedicated to the Proosdij, presents an analysis by the three editors of all archaeological, historical and architectural data collected during the restoration of the building.  It is now possible to sketch an image of the early years of Deventer, refuge for the bishop of Utrecht during the incursions of the Vikings in the 9th and 10th centuries, growing in importance as a trading town in the 11th and 12th century and its strong ties with the courts of the Ottonian rulers and the bishop of Utrecht. Later on in the middle ages the importance of Deventer fell in decline.

Ever since the late 1950's, continental early medieval archaeology has taken great strides  forward in defining and redefining the contents of cemeteries and burials. The analysis of gravegoods and grave-orientation reflected the ideas and interests of the archaeologists involved and the society in which they worked.
This paper is an attempt to redirect attention towards the archaeological features themselves. lt is argued that the size and volume of a grave-pit are important factors in defining the  wealth and  social status of the deceased, regardless of whether or not the grave has been emptied of it's contents.  Moreover,  it seems possible  to distinguish  several  'tribal' traits  within the burial custom, particular to a certain region in a certain period. The concentration of large grave-pits (indicative of chamber graves) in late 6th and early 7th century Austrasia for instance could well be a local phenomenon pointing in the direction of strife and contest on a regional level, i.e. the formation of elite groups.