Video: Leiden archaeologists digging in Oss
Leiden archaeologists have been digging into the municipality of Oss’s past for 50 years now and students have gained their first experience of fieldwork there. What is the result of half a century of research and teaching? Archaeologist Richard Jansen and his students take us to the largest excavation project in the Netherlands.
This year archaeologists are braving the elements to do their research in a soggy field just outside town. Between the showers, Richard Jansen explains that the excavations in the municipality of Oss have revealed a wealth of information. It started in 1933 with the discovery of a spectacular burial mound. Ever since, researchers and local archaeologists have made tens of thousands of finds, including temples, swords, jewellery, the foundations of houses and utensils such as pots and tools. The oldest remains are 5,000 years old and are from the Stone Age. In the video Jansen explains how all these puzzle pieces tell a story about thousands of years of inhabitation of this small part of the province of North Brabant.
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The largest excavation project in the Netherlands is a great opportunity for Leiden students to learn an archaeologist’s trade in real sand and clay. They spend two weeks excavating, researching traces and registering colour changes in the soil. For them too, the work continues whatever the weather. How are they finding this first realistic introduction to fieldwork and meticulously analysing remains in the soil? See what they have learned from their first experience in the field.
This autumn, from September, there will be an exhibition in Oude UB (Rapenburg 70) in Leiden about 50 years of excavations in Oss.
Photo and video: Danique ter Horst