The construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn offers unique opportunities for archaeological research. Amsterdam’s soil is a valuable treasure chest that is being opened once again for while.  

The first archaeological finds are already on display at the Amsterdam Historical Museum.

A unique opportunity for Amsterdam archaeologists
Sunken ships, woolly mammoth skulls, lost tools and many other ancient objects lie buried deep in the ground. For the archaeologists of Amsterdam Municipal Department for the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Buildings and Sites (bMA), the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn is a perfect opportunity for archaeological research.

To get an idea of the kinds of things one could expect to find in Amsterdam’s soil, researchers studied the history of the various locations along the route of the Noord/Zuidlijn.

They looked primarily at how earlier inhabitants of Amsterdam lived on the canals, where they worked and along which routes the ships sailed. Especially between Central Station and the Spui, where the Amstel River once entered the old city, there is a good chance of coming upon old shipwrecks.

Materials in the water
What makes the work especially enjoyable and interesting for the archaeologists is that the excavations are located primarily in the old watercourses. Normally speaking, those areas in Amsterdam are not accessible for archaeological research.

Yet these are precisely the places where archaeologists expect to find many things. After all, people lived alongside the old watercourses for centuries.

Over the course of many years, the old channels became silted up, and the mud at the bottom has had a conserving effect on many of the materials that had fallen into the water. This will give us an idea of how Amsterdammers used to live in the old days.

Which animals are we going to find?
Beside numerous finds from mediaeval Amsterdam, even older – prehistoric – finds are also possible during the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn. During earlier excavations in connection with construction projects in Amsterdam, two woolly rhinoceros skulls, skull fragments and various teeth and pieces of bones of mammoths were found. Who knows which animals the archaeologists will find this time beneath the centre of Amsterdam...

Will any traces be lost?
Besides objects, excavations also reveal traces of things in the earth that provide indispensable information about the local conditions around the time an object was made or used. The Amsterdam Municipal Department for the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Buildings and Sites (bMA) looks primarily for any connections and relationships between these traces and the objects found in the soil that can tell us more about how people used to live. In contrast to artefacts, which can be saved and studied later, these traces are only visible during the excavation. After that time they are lost forever.

Where will we be digging?
The studies of the city’s core area showed that important archaeological finds are especially possible at certain locations along the route. These include the Damrak, where the investigation will focus on the earliest shipping activities, and the Rokin, where the excavation pit is located right in the middle of the riverbed of the Amstel. At the other excavation sites, such as the one on Vijzelgracht, where an old watercourse is being studied, and the one on Ceintuurbaan, which is near the former Zaagmolensloot (‘Saw mill ditch’), exploratory trenches are being dug.

These exploratory trenches will enable archaeologists to gather a lot of information in a relatively short period of time. With that information, they can decide whether or not further archaeological research is necessary.

Archaeological finds along the Noord/Zuidlijn
20 October 2005

During the sinking of the caisson on the Damrak in recent weeks, archaeologists were able to unearth a number of remarkable objects.

The finds go back to the 14th century and vary from shipwrights’ tools, a whole collection of knives, pottery, a special box for tobacco and an unusual badge made of tin.

The launching shaft for the gigantic machine that will be boring the metro tunnel beneath the city centre is currently under construction on the Damrak. The deeper this ‘concrete box’ sinks, the older the archaeological finds get.

The large number of knives that the archaeologists have dug up so far is particularly striking. All of them stem from the Middle Ages, from around the 15th century. ‘That could mean that the Nieuwe Brug [New Bridge] might have had little shops that sold knives, just like the Pontevecchio in Florence also had shops. It is also conceivable that there was a workshop on the bridge where knives were made,’ archaeologist Jerzy Gawronski says.

Many of the objects suggest a lot of maritime activity at the mouth of the Amstel in earlier times. The Damrak, where the archaeological investigations are currently taking place, used to be the site of Amsterdam’s harbour. The investigations will continue over the coming weeks. The archaeologists expect to find many more objects, perhaps even some from the 12th century.

Bottom and top of a tobacco box showing the city seal of Amsterdam and an impression of the Amsterdam skyline around 1700, as seen from the IJ River.

Tin badge of the St George and the Dragon Schuttersgilde [citizens’ militia] from ca. 1450. The bearer wore the badge to show that he was a member of that guild.