GORINCHEM – The people of Gorcum who lived in the shadow of the Grote Kerk (Big church) have had a hard life. This is evident from physical-anthropological research by Maja d'HollosyThese skeletons were discovered in May 2008 when a fire extinguishing system was installed in the tower.
Archaeological research Behind the Church, Gorinchem
Hollandia archaeologists, hired by the municipality of Gorinchem, discovered the remains of no less than 53 individuals. The research agency had been called in beforehand because previous excavations had shown that there was a good chance that human remains would be found.
End of 14e, early 15se century, the people of Gorcum began to bury their deceased fellow citizens at this location, or so it was assumed. This turned out to be the case, because the oldest bone remains found date from this period. The youngest skeletons date from the 18e century.
Little women
The researchers examined 36 individuals. Of these, 28 had reached adulthood (older than 20 years). The average age of the women in this group was 36,4 years. For the men, this was 44,4 years. The latter was not exceptional. The age of women is very low. Furthermore, with their average height of 1,56 meters, they are relatively small. Women were on average around 1,60 meters tall. According to the researchers, it can therefore be said that the women were relatively poorly off. However, it cannot be related to diseases, because in that respect there is hardly any difference with the men.
The researchers compared their results with those of the skeletons found on the Pig market were excavated in the mid-1996. The Gorcumers who were discovered here were buried in the period 1455 – 1572. They became a lot older than their fellow citizens: on average eleven years. Moreover, they suffered from 'diseases of affluence'.
March 2, 2011
AD Rivierenland