Oud Aalten

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Category: Archeology

  • Traces of 1100-year-old settlement in Aalten

    Traces of 1100-year-old settlement in Aalten

    In August 2024, archaeological research was carried out on a site at De Hoven in Aalten, shortly before apartments are built. This research, carried out by members of the antiquities association ADW led by archaeologist Willem Doodeheefver, provided valuable insights into the early medieval history of Aalten.

    The finds, which include remains of hut bowls, waste pits and metal objects, offer a unique insight into life around the year 900 AD. Previous excavations in this area, in 1982 and 1892, had already found traces of a so-called Frankish-Merovingian settlement.

    Hut bowls

    This is what the Aalten hut bowl could have looked like (sketch made by Willem Doodeheefver)
    This is what the Aalten hut bowl could have looked like (sketch made by Willem Doodeheefver)

    The most striking finds during the excavations in 2024 are the remains of some hut bowls, which became visible due to dark discolorations in the soil. A hut bowl was a half-buried, rectangular building, about three meters wide and four meters long. The pit was 0.5 to 1 meter deep and had no above-ground walls; The roof construction rested partly on ground level. This construction method provided shelter from the summer heat and provided relative warmth in winter.

    Hut bowls served as craft rooms, usually on a farmyard. They were used for activities such as weaving, woodworking, metalworking or working bone. Slag was found at one of the hut bowls found at De Hoven, remnants of molten rock. This may indicate that the hut may have served as a blacksmith’s shop.

    Waste pits

    Several waste pits have been found scattered around the site. The waste left behind by the residents at the time provides valuable information about their daily lives, utensils and the dating of the hut bowls. Among other things, shards of pottery were found in the waste pits, dated around the year 900 AD.

    1100 years of habitation

    The finds give a picture of the landscape as it looked more than 1100 years ago. A favorable circumstance is that the soil of De Hoven has remained largely untouched during the past thousand years. The name ‘De Hoven’ refers to the gardens that were here for centuries, and the area has remained largely undeveloped to this day.

    This and earlier archaeological finds on De Hoven, but also on the Damstraat, confirm that people were already living in Aalten 1100 years ago. This period coincides with a mention of a place that was mentioned in a document from 828 Aladna .

    Why this place?

    The choice of this place of residence in the early Middle Ages is easy to explain. Aalten is located on seven slopes that were formed in the ice age. De Hoven is located on one of the higher, dry and safe parts. For the residents, it was only a short walk to the Slingebeek, where they could get water and fish. De Hoven is also a stone’s throw from the Landstraat. It is possible that this was already an important traffic route in the Achterhoek at that time, an area that was still quite empty and largely unexplored at the time.

    Sources

  • Aalten in the Middle Ages

    Aalten in the Middle Ages

    Historical sources reveal that Aalten was mentioned in 1152 as the parish of Aladon1. This indicates that a church existed at that time, which was presumably located on the same site as the current Oude Helenakerk. A mention from 828 (Aladna)2 is not undisputed, although such an early dating for Aalten is certainly possible from an archaeological perspective. Indeed, traces of human habitation from that period have been found both at De Hoven and on the Damstraat.

    Burial Ground

    In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a large number of objects were collected during excavation work on Damstraat. Among the finds are 15 pots of widely varying shapes, some of which are beautifully decorated.

    In 1932, under the direction of Professor A.E. van Giffen, a burial ground was uncovered in Aalten behind the Manschot factory, now Manschotplein. Spearheads, stirrups, a shield boss, several small pots, and ten silver links from a belt were found.3 It is not unlikely that these finds originate from the grave of a single warrior.

    Part of the Damstraat was likely a Merovingian-Frankish burial ground around the year 800. The Merovingians were a dynasty of Frankish kings. The site has been heavily disturbed by house construction.

    Belt fitting, found at Damstraat in Aalten
    Belt fitting, found at Damstraat in Aalten

    Medieval Cellar

    Naturally, a burial ground is associated with a settlement. You will understand that we were very curious about where this settlement was located. In recent decades, a working group from the archaeological society A.D.W. has closely monitored excavation and construction activities in and around the current center of Aalten. In 1981, this resulted in the discovery of a cellar from the 12th century. The find was made in the renovated premises of what was then the Welkamp company (Bredevoortsestraatweg 5). No remains were found of the farmhouse of which the cellar was a part. However, the cellar itself yielded a wealth of information.

    Bredevoortsestraatweg 5, Aalten (2002)
    Bredevoortsestraatweg 5, Angelique Women’s Wear (2002)

    Because the cellar had been destroyed by fire, all objects present at the time of the fire were recovered within it. A total of six pots were found which, given their size, must have been used as storage jars. Unfortunately, five of the six pots were broken. A handle from a saucepan, in the shape of an animal head, was also found. Iron slag and a piece of lime indicate a smithy in the vicinity. It is possible that two hinges found were manufactured in this smithy.

    Bone remains showed that horses, sheep or goats, cattle, and pigs were kept. Charred grain remains of oats, wheat, and rye were found in a soil sample. With this find, the mention from 1152 was archaeologically confirmed. Several imported shards from Germany point to a dating in the second quarter of the 12th century. 4

    Settlement

    Although this find was important in itself, no traces had yet been found of the older settlement associated with the burial ground. However, during the redevelopment of De Hoven in December 1982, traces of a Frankish-Merovingian settlement were discovered. The remains of a sunken hut from the 9th century5 are an indication that Aalten already existed at that time, albeit under a different name.

    A sunken hut should be imagined as a rectangular pit topped by a gable roof. Usually, these sunken huts had a craft function (e.g., a weaving hut) or a storage function. Only the larger ones were possibly also used as dwellings.

    This is what the Aalten hut bowl could have looked like (sketch made by Willem Doodeheefver)
    This is what the Aalten hut bowl could have looked like (sketch made by Willem Doodeheefver)

    After the sunken hut was abandoned, the pit was used as a refuse pit. A large number of bones from the same livestock as in the cellar find were discovered here. The discovery of bone remains from a deer indicates a minor role for hunting. Furthermore, charred grains and seeds such as barley, rye, emmer wheat (a prehistoric grain type), oats, lentils (possibly peas or vetch), pale-yellow hemp-nettle, goosefoot, and sheep’s sorrel were found.

    From the fact that pottery types found in the sunken hut also occur in the burial ground, we may conclude that both are contemporaneous. It is therefore not far-fetched to assume that the people who lived at De Hoven buried their dead at the current Damstraat.

    Second Find

    In December 1992, during work at De Hoven, not far from the previous site, remains of a sunken hut were found again, this time probably dating from the 8th century. This sunken hut was found on the grounds of De Hoven where road builder Jaartsveld was carrying out excavation work for the construction of a new parking lot. 6

    This sunken hut was quite small and had almost certainly been the workshop of a weaver. A groove on the side of the pattern found indicated where the loom had stood. Spindle whorls and clay balls that served as weights for the loom were also found. The sunken hut was smaller than the one discovered in 1982. That one may have been a hut where a family lived.

    8th-century sunken hut, De Hoven, Aalten
    Archaeological research at De Hoven, 1992. Photo: Peter Rhebergen

    Willem Doodeheefver, one of the amateur archaeologists involved in the research, told a reporter:

    “You know it is an area in the vicinity of which something has been found before. You could see it very clearly during the excavation. Suddenly, in the red sand, the black imprints became visible where posts used to stand. That is always a huge surprise.”

    The National Service for Archaeological Heritage (ROB) recognized the importance of the finds and asked the Soil Research Working Group of the Archaeological Society A.D.W. to continue the investigation. An employee of Jaartsveld specifically returned from vacation to further excavate the site using a loader. Several new finds were made during this process. Many of the aforementioned finds can be viewed in the museum on the Markt.

    Origin of the place name

    Several theories circulate regarding the origin of the name Aalten. But what are they based on and how credible are they? Oud Aalten delved into history to discover more about this.

    Read the full article: Origin of the place name Aalten.

    Sources

    1. Sloet, L.A.J.W. (1872) Oorkondenboek der Graafschappen Gelre en Zutfen, p.292 ↩︎
    2. Aladna in the Year 828 ↩︎
    3. Collectie Gelderland, Schatkamers van Gelderland ↩︎
    4. Schut, P. (1982) Een hutkom of kelder uit de 12de eeuw te Aalten (Gld.) ↩︎
    5. Schut, P. (1984) Een hutkom uit de 9de eeuw te Aalten (Gld.) ↩︎
    6. Willink, Joop (dec. 1992) Sporen Frankisch-Merovingische nederzetting (krantartikel) ↩︎