IN AMSTERDAM, an ambitious construction project has opened a unique window into the history of the city.
This coastal area has been inhabited since the Neolithic era, but the city as it stands today grew from a trading post established 800 years ago on the shores of the Amstel river.
In 2003, work began on a metro line running along the city鈥檚 north-south axis, connecting its two halves, which are separated by a body of water known as the IJ. As the 7-kilometre long tunnel was bored, it granted archaeologists a unique opportunity to peel back the layers of history lying under Amsterdam.
Advertisement
In all, 700,000 finds were catalogued across six sites, four of which lay in present or former riverbeds. These proved to be incredibly rich troves 鈥� for centuries, objects dropped or thrown into the water by those living and working in the city had been buried under the mud.
The hoard includes all the detritus of modern and historical life: coins, thimbles, cutlery, pipes, jewellery, clothing, tools, toys, religious tokens and bones (animal and human). Many of the items have been put on display at the Rokin metro station, and a further 11,000 or so can be seen online at belowthesurface.amsterdam.
The only thing missing was evidence of prehistoric communities. Although mammoth and Neanderthal remains are sometimes discovered in the area, none turned up during the excavations.
Photographer
Harold Strak, Department of Monuments and Archaeology (MenA), City of Amsterdam
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淟ost and found鈥�
