GORINCHEM – The discovery of the House Paffenrode is not one of many. Archaeologist Pieter Floore, charged with research at the Gorcumse Kazerneplein, discovers while digging that the residents were not the least in Gorcum society
Floore is an archaeologist affiliated with the Institute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology Albert Egges-Van Giffen, part of the University of Amsterdam. Together with volunteers from the Archaeological Working Group Gorinchem, he has been digging for traces from Paffenrode's past for the third week now.
Remains of the House Paffenrode on the Kazerneplein in Gorinchem
"Huis Paffenrode could actually be better called Huis Van Weresteyn. After all, City Pensionary Mr. Adriaen van Weresteyn was the one who commissioned the construction at the end of the sixteenth century. He had the necessary contacts in The Hague and was a very wealthy man," says Floore.
"The fact that the economy in Holland was doing well at the end of the sixteenth century, which led to a lot of construction, is difficult for us to understand. Eighty Years' War had already been going on for quite a few years, so you wouldn't really expect any economic prosperity during that period. However, Van Weresteyn managed to get his hands on a large piece of land. And in those days, land was expensive."
"Still, that must not have been a problem for Van Weresteyn. Finds from the cesspool that we uncovered last week indicate that there was wealth. For example, we have now discovered Ming porcelain. Very expensive, but very popular among the so-called Nouveau Riche of that time," says Floore.
The Dordrecht resident
August 28, 1997
by Anja Broeken