During exploratory excavations connected to a renovation project in the Dutch city of Alkmaar, archaeologists unearthed a centuries–old, tiled floor that was partially constructed from some unusual building materials. Bizarrely enough, various gaps between the tiles had been filled in with patches made from sawed cow bones, for reasons that are completely undetermined at this time.
The excavations that produced this remarkable discovery took place in the red-light district of central Alkmaar, a city of just over 100,000 people located in the Netherlands province of North Holland. The building being renovated was constructed in 1609, meaning the cow-bone floor must be 300 years old at the minimum. However, there is reason to believe the structure under renovation may have been built over an older structure, raising the possibility that the cow-bone patches could have been added to a more ancient tile floor.
Adding credence to the latter possibility is the fact that tile floors featuring processed cow-bone inlays dating to the 1400s have been found in three Dutch port towns: Hoorn, Enkhuizen and Edam. So this is not the first time a floor possessing such interesting characteristics has been found on Dutch soil. The previous examples suggest a 15th-century origin for the latest find as well, in the opinion of the discoverers.
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“We were very happy to have the opportunity to see this bone floor with our own eyes,” said Nancy De Jong, one of the archaeologists responsible for this exciting find, in a press release issued by the Municipality of Alkmaar. “It remains a privilege every time to uncover something from a time long gone and to add new information to the history of Alkmaar.”
What Motivated This Mysterious Practice?
As of now, the reason why cow bones were used as floor building material remains unknown. Tiles were cheap and readily available in the Netherlands between 300 and 500 years ago, meaning that cow bones wouldn’t have been “recycled” for use in floor construction out of necessity.
Close–up of cow-bone patches used to fill in gaps in tile floor in medieval structure found in Alkmaar, Netherlands. (Archaeology Team, Municipality of Alkmaar).
Notably, Alkmaar is a prodigious European cheesemaking center and has been since the 14th century, meaning that cows have made tremendous contributions to the growth of the city’s economy over the years. This suggests the sawed bovine bones could have been added to the floor for stylistic or thematic reasons, especially if the building the floor was in had some relationship to the production or sale of cheese products.
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According to the archaeologists who unearthed the floor, the bones were not added to it in a casual or haphazard manner. The bones all came from the lower legs and ankles of cows, and they were all cut to the same length and in the same way and were arranged in a meticulous pattern. Interestingly, this pattern matched that found in the bone patches added to the 15th-century tile floor discovered in Hoorn, which likely means the two floors were made around the same time.
Based on differences in the wear and tear on the floor materials, it appears the bones were not an original part of the floor, but were added in patches used to repair gaps between degraded tiles that opened up over time.
“The floor tiles were worn down from intense use, and it is possible that the bones were placed there either for practical or symbolic reasons,” Nancy De Jong told the Dutch news publication Focus Online. “They may have fit well with the craft being practiced in this space, or they could have been an inexpensive way to complete the floor.”
A Cheesemaking Center Where Cows Were Queens
Given the importance of the ancient art of cheesemaking to the history and development of Alkmaar, the probability that the renovated structure—and its astonishing floor—were connected to the cheese trade is high.
Aerial view of downtown/central area of the city of Alkmaar, North Holland, Netherlands. (Rene Cortin/CC BY-SA 4.0).
The city is the home of the Dutch Cheese Museum, and its cheesemaking industry is believed to have begun operations in the mid-14th century. By the 17th century the city was producing millions of pounds of cheese each year for Dutch markets and for export, and Alkmaar has retained its prominence in the European cheese trade to this day.
Asked to comment about the unique nature of the newly excavated cow-bone/tile floor, an Alkmaar alderman who supervises heritage projects in the city expressed his delight at this rare find.
“Discovering this floor is incredibly interesting,” Anjo van de Ven exclaimed. “I am therefore pleased that our archaeologists regularly get the chance to look at projects and that companies and residents know where to find them when they are needed. There are still a lot of hidden stories preserved [in Alkmaar], waiting for our team of archaeologists to come and find them.”
Top image: Tile floor patched with cow bones, found during excavations in Alkmaar city center. Source: Archaeology Team, Municipality of Alkmaar.
By Nathan Falde
Source: www.ancient-origins.net