GORINCHEM – The excavation work on the Barracks Square are making steady progress and have recently made many passers-by stop and think. In addition to the digging and moving of huge piles of earth, there was something else that attracted attention: the man with the metal detector, who meticulously searched the ground for all kinds of old remains.
Patrick Mackenbach with metal detector
Patrick Mackenbach (24) is an amateur archaeologist and has been given permission to search the site (unauthorized persons risk a hefty fine if they enter the site). He is mainly looking for utensils: spoons, knives, buttons, buckles, thimbles. He has even found golf shoes (does the name 'golf course' mean anything?). These are a kind of golf club from the 17e century. Last Wednesday, the wise diggers came across an old ditch. Mackenbach: “Those are interesting places for me, there is a lot of waste in there. People threw their rubbish in the ditch. Based on what I find, I can see how old the layer is and what period is buried there. For example, there are white pipe heads in here, they came here around 1610, so the waste here in the ditch is from shortly after that.” Yet there are many older things on, or actually under, the Kazerneplein: “This here is a pewter belt buckle from around 1575. I also found spearheads from around 1450 and a few Roman coins. I think that there are many more interesting objects buried in the deeper layers. But yes, the question is whether I will be able to get it all out. Soon they will be removing the soil one metre at a time and then a lot will be lost; very unfortunate.”
Patrick is a member of the AWN, an umbrella organization in the field of amateur archaeology. He reports all finds neatly, he takes photos and descriptions of them. Patrick has been involved in this kind of soil research since he was twelve: “It started with searching for ammunition and cartridge cases. Then I found some coins and I became a member. That's how you become more and more interested in antiquity. It's a disease, a real addiction: I dream about it at night.”
Next week, it will be quiet on the Kazerneplein. The work will be stopped until the construction of the parking garage starts in April. Then the ground will be dug up with great force to a depth of seven meters. Mackenbach: “I certainly hope that I will be able to be there again, but even then, with that speed of digging, I will only be able to dig out a tenth of what is in the ground on my own. But I also definitely plan to go and look at the dump where the soil is going. Yes, I can't help myself.”
November 9, 1997
Gorcumse Courant