Archaeologist at Binnenhof: ‘Even the staff ate heron’
Alumnus interview image: Rob Dorresteijn
An Iron Age skull, a unicorn for cleaning your ear and thousands of beer jugs. Alumnus and archaeologist Chris Muysson has made remarkable discoveries at the Binnenhof government complex in The Hague. ‘Each puzzle piece tells us more about its history.’
‘Stick a spade in the ground anywhere here and you’ll find stoneware jugs [from the 14th and 15th century, Ed.] that were used for drinking beer’, says Chris Muysson, an archaeologist at the Municipality of The Hague, with a laugh. ‘Ten thousand would be a conservative estimate. We even discovered a waste pit containing 100 kilos of them. They were the plastic bottles of their time, and it’s almost decadent that people just threw them away after use.’
The jugs are traces of Binnenhof’s 800-year history. Foundations and archaeological finds reveal that this political centre was already a gigantic complex in the 13th century. There were even ambitions for an imperial palace.
Quay walls from the 13th century
The renovation offers archaeologists a unique glimpse into the past. Muysson (32) points to pieces of stone that were part of a 13th-century quay wall. ‘We’ve found the original wall, which is really unique. It allows us to create a new picture of what the court looked like back then. Wherever builders are working, we’re watching closely. Each puzzle piece tells us more about its history.’
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Two of the thousands of beer jugs found. -
‘Wherever builders are working, we’re watching closely’, says Chris Muysson, seen talking here to one of the builders. -
The Senate is also being restored.
Luxury in the waste cellar
One of those puzzle pieces was found two metres below the surface. After a short descent down a ladder, Muysson shows the remains of a cesspit, a cellar in which waste and human excrement were dumped. ‘Excavating it was tough because it had to be done almost entirely by hand. But what we found is fantastic. The waste gives a picture of daily life in a medieval court: it tells us what they ate and used.’
Among the finds were a chisel with a horn handle, a heron’s skull and a silver coin bearing the image of Floris V (Count of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland). ‘He built this here during his reign, so it is super special to find such a coin in this exact spot.’ The heron’s skull is unusual too, says Muysson. ‘Eating heron was really fancy in the 13th century, so finding it here in a place we think was for staff is a sign of luxury.’
The same is true for the bricks: incredibly expensive at the time, they were a status symbol. ‘That they were even used for staff areas says something about the ambitions for the complex.’
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Chris Muysson in the cesspit, among the almost 800-year-old building remains. -
Using bricks for a cesspit says something about the ambitions for the complex.
From physiotherapy to archaeology
Muysson’s more remarkable find was on the square in front of the Ridderzaal. He points to a spot in the middle of what is now an enormous hole filled with water. ‘That’s where we found an Iron Age cremation burial containing a child’s skull but no other bones whatsoever. That’s so weird; it’s shrouded in mystery. No such cremation burial has ever been found in this region.’
During the excavation, Muysson immediately recognised it had as a piece of skull. Before studying archaeology in Leiden, he trained as a physiotherapist, which gave him a solid understanding of anatomy. ‘While studying physiotherapy, I discovered that you have to work with people a lot, and that’s not my thing. So I did archaeology instead because bones don’t talk back,’ he jokes.
‘I initially wanted to become a biological anthropologist [An archaeologist specialising in human anatomy, Ed.] but everyone wanted to do that. I realised there would be zero job prospects, so I focused on fieldwork in the Netherlands instead.’
As he was already 24 when he began studying archaeology, he wanted to complete his degree as soon as possible. ‘I threw myself into my studies and my time at university flew by.’ Through temporary work, he ended up working at Binnenhof for the Municipality of The Hague while completing his master’s thesis. ‘I was really lucky’
Top finds
In The Hague, he specialised in an advanced 3D method that allows archaeologists to map the remains of the Binnenhof in detail. Even after the floors are closed up, new buildings constructed and politicians return to the site, the cultural heritage will remain preserved.
Not everything ends up back underground or gets cleared away. The highlights of the excavation are stored in a blue container secured with a large lock – and occasionally put on display. ‘It’s a bit of a mess’, says Muysson as he opens the door. Inside are stacks of crates filled with bags full of pottery shards and transparent boxes containing various objects.
‘Look, this is a top find’, he says, producing a horn pocket sundial from one of the boxes. It was at the site of a former bridge. ‘The watch was a luxury product for the time. You can just imagine someone back then checking the time and dropping it in the water. And we found this unicorn on the other side of the bridge. You clean your teeth with one end and your ear with the other. Someone probably stood on the bridge doing just that.’
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A blue container with the highlights of the excavation. -
The unicorn used to clean people’s teeth and ears. -
The pocket sundial. -
Part of a plate from the end of the 16th century depicting a horse.
The hunt for a farm
There is plenty for the archaeologists to do in the coming years. Muysson is especially intrigued by what they might find around the Ridderzaal. ‘There are stories of a farmstead that was there, but we haven’t found any evidence of it as yet. If it did exist, we should be able to find it there.’
The completion date of Binnenhof has already been postponed a few times (‘not our fault’) and no official date has been communicated. But even then, Muysson’s work will not be done. He’ll continue working with his colleagues on the finds. ‘I think that’ll be the best part because that’s when all the stories come together.’