GORINCHEM – The archaeological working group of Gorinchem already came across a piece of wall on Monday, but in the days that followed many more foundations came to light. Under the supervision of Ranjith Jayasena, who is responsible for coordinating the work on the Barracks Square, new pieces surfaced again yesterday.
Foundations House Paffentode
"With a little reservation, I dare say that we have stumbled upon Huis Paffenrode. All traces indicate that this is very likely.” 21-year-old Ranjith studies archaeology at the University of Amsterdam. The archaeological research in Gorinchem is his first introduction to the city, but the work is certainly not new to him. In his hometown of Amersfoort, he has already been involved in similar excavations several times. The third-year student has chosen the Middle Ages as his specialization.
By mapping the foundations found at the same time, a cautious layout of the sixteenth-century house is already created on paper. "We do not only find walls. We also come across so-called rubble trenches, where you can see that something must have stood there in the past. In those days, stones were often reused when a building was demolished, because stones were expensive," he explains.
""We have come across foundations that were built with old, already used stones. The stones that we find also vary in size. The stones that date from the fourteenth to fifteenth century are quite large by our standards, measuring 30 by 15 by 7 centimetres," says Ranjith.
The Dordrecht resident
August 15, 1997
by Anja Broeken