GORINCHEM – The municipal archaeology working group has been working on a parking lot in the past two weeks Nursery Street searched for remains of the synagogue that was demolished in 1958. In addition to nineteenth-century crockery, wall remains, cellars and a well, a so-called 'mikveh' was also found.
Mikvah Synagogue Gorinchem Kwekelstraat
The mikveh is a ritual Jewish bath for married women who are required to cleanse themselves in this bath after each menstruation. Women who are about to say 'I do' also use this bath just before their wedding day. The Jewish bath, which was located at the back of the synagogue, was discovered by archaeologists Pieter Floore and Martin Veen who, with the daily help of a few volunteers, worked on this job for ten days. Veen: "The fact that we have discovered a mikveh is of course a nice boost. Unfortunately, not everything we were looking for was still in the ground. When they demolished the synagogue in 1958, they took quite drastic action."
In the watercourse, Floore and Veen found household waste from the previous two centuries. The contents of this waste, which mainly consists of food remains of large freshwater fish such as pike and sturgeon, were sieved. The finds will be further investigated in the coming months.
The mikveh has the most 'cultural-historical' value of the objects found. In consultation with ING Vastgoed, the project developer that is starting the new construction in the Kwekelstraat today, a solution is being sought to preserve the mikveh as a monument. According to Martin Veen, a decision on this will be made soon. “It is all very short notice. The work will start on Wednesday, so a decision has to be made quickly. I have two options in mind. Because the mikveh is currently located in a place where the foundation is being built, it seems best to me to lower the pool a little so that the foundation piles are not driven through it. Another option is to move the mikveh to the part where the crawl space will be located.”
Gorcumse Courant
March 1, 2000