============================== The church was being restored. Also an excavation took place. On the square in front of the Catharina Church a skelet was found a few years ago from a boy age 14 yrs (Marcus of Eindhoven)who was burried here in medieval times (1300 ac).
In March 2005 they started digging again because more bodies from that time (1300ac) will be tested by international specialists from all over the world and ...they will do DNA tests which....maybe could deliver information for treatment on aidspatients...
Nico Arts, the city Archeologist will be in charge of this 1,5 yrs project together with Mick van Son, who was so nice to show and tell Robin 922 and me all about the history of the people who were berried here and will be digged out for research this month. ================================ he only church in the medieval centre of Eindhoven is the ‘Catharinakerk’, which was consecrated in 1867. It is a neo-gothic building, standing on almost the exact site of its predecessor, which was demolished in 1860. The medieval church stood as tradition required with the choir to the east and the tower to the west. The present-day church, however, is orientated in the opposite direction. A small proportion of the remains of the original church, the choir, is buried under the square at the front of the present building.
The remains of the original church were first looked for in March and April 1950. This occurred during repaving of the square next to the church. Arjan Kakebeeke (1916-1990) and Herman Strijbos (1926-2004), both from Eindhoven, were alert enough to take this opportunity to record the archaeology made visible. They reported a variety of foundations of the old church lying close to the surface. There is also a sketch of the positions of the foundations as they saw them.
In the near future, the square in front of St. Catharine’s Church is due to be repaved yet again. The remains of the medieval church will somehow be incorporated into the design of the square. In order to acquire a better understanding of the nature and degree of preservation of the archaeology, a second archeological investigation took place from 19 February to 16 March 2002. A small trench was dug right in front of the church, measuring 3.2 x 8.5 meters. During the dig, it became apparent that the trench cut right across the choir of the medieval church. The huge brickwork foundations of one of the outer walls of the choir came to light. The wall was one metre thick. The large size of the bricks themselves give a building date in the 13th century. Further brickwork was part of the foundations of the main altar and of a burial vault for one person.
It was a great surprise to find a large number of burials in the choir. Since the choir is the most important part of a church, the people buried here must have been of high social standing. There are three layers of burials: in the top layer there were in places burials closely stacked one above the other. The oldest layer dates from the 13th Century, the middle layer from the 14th and 15th Centuries and the top layer from 16th to 19th Century. These topmost burials are only 20cm under present-day street level. They must have been directly under the floor of the medieval church.
Only one grave from the middle layer was investigated, as a random sample, and it contained the skeleton of child who had been about 105 cm tall. The skull was more or less intact but the rest of the bones were poorly preserved. The roots of the trees planted on the square above in 1982 had just about pulverised them. Pottery sherds in the grave filling indicate a date of round about 1300. Based on the dental development the child must have been about 10 years old. There are numerous small ridges on the teeth which are an indication of some growth problems. At the top of the one remaining intact eye socket, the bone is porous, which is a characteristic symptom of anaemia. It would thus appear to have been a sickly child who died of anaemia. The prominent position of the grave, in the choir immediately before the main altar, is evidence of child of high social status.
picture During the excavation a small silver coin was discovered near the child’s lower jaw. The coin is pierced and the hole rather worn. It appears to have been worn as an ornament over quite a period of time. The surface of the coin is also very much worn away. Despite these problems, the Dutch National Museum of Coins and Medals was able to identify it. It turned out to be a groat, minted in Venice between the years of 1202 and 1342. Unfortunately a more accurate date is not possible due to the amount of wear . This coin shows on one face the doge, the ruler of Venice, with St. Mark at his side and on the other side Christ on his throne. The assumption is that these types of pierced coins were brought back by crusaders as souvenirs or pilgrim’s badges. A small fragment of fine linen clung to the back of the coin, probably the remains of the shroud and there was a minute length of silk thread through the hole. In the thirteen hundreds, silk was an exotic material, which was imported through Constantinople (nowadays Istanbul) from the Far East or from the Mediterranean region. The question arises whether the coin and the silk were brought back to Eindhoven by a crusader?
picture Although it is usually possible to determine the sex of an adult based on skeletal remains, it is not possible with the immature bones of children. Therefore it was decided to investigate whether the remains still contained any DNA. DNA is a chemical compound which comprises a sort of bar-code for all the genetic data of a living being. It thus also contains codes for the sex. There has hardly ever been any other research into ancient DNA in The Netherlands. It is more customary in other countries such as Belgium. Before washing the skull of this child of Eindhoven, it was taken for research to the Laboratory for Forensic Genetics and Molecular Archeology at the University of Louvain, Belgium. They discovered traces of DNA in one of the milk teeth. This produced the answer that the child was male.
This boy, excavated in 2002, was given the name ‘Marcus van Eindhoven’; Marcus because of the portrait on the coin dug up with him and ‘van Eindhoven’ clearly after the town where he was discovered. The child has not only been given a name but has also regained a face. His face was reconstructed using forensic techniques originally developed by the police. To make such a reconstruction, first a copy is made of the skull. Using a CT-scan, thanks to the generosity of Philips Medical Systems in Best,picture first a digital copy was made which was then converted to a plastic 3D replica by TNO Eindhoven using a special printer. Finally, the reconstruction of his face was completed by Maja d’Hollosy, a specialist in facial reconstructions.
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Marcus van Eindhoven has attracted a great deal of attention. The medieval history of Eindhoven has been given a face. Marcus is to be found at number ten in the roll of most famous historical figures from the Eindhoven region July 2004). He was even the theme of the town’s annual dictation competition (November 2004) and will be the theme of a
But Marcus has also created a problem for Eindhoven. There are probably at least 500, and perhaps even 1,000 skeletal remains still laying underneath the square in front of the church. These remains together with those of the medieval church form a valuable archive of the town’s history. There is a great deal of data over the historical identity of Eindhoven preserved beneath that square. There is also a high probability of there being a large amount of ancient DNA too. The roots from the trees in the square are, however, having a disastrous effect on the archeological record. A further problem is caused by the constantly changing water levels, which could result in diminishing the amount of DNA left to be found. The plans to build up the square with tons of material would completely squash the underground archaeology. Drastic measures will have to be taken to prevent this invaluable archeological record being lost forever.
John, I agree on the lighting issue, in fact the sun was just in that area. I guess an early morning shot would be etter. Well, one cannot always choose ... Thanks, Harry
Very impressive shot, always that building gives great photos and surely even the building 'dressed' for fixing like that is an element that adds something different here, I like the angle, lol... I have the same problem in many photos with the lighting that cames like that, very bright and shining sky that erase some of the building's details... perhaps it could be better that shot to take from the other angle - point of view but not big deal... I cannot now if you could be there to take the shot from the other side... worths the subject a lot my friend so excellent... after all I hope to have the moment to take a shot from a building like that... with any kind of weather and lighting conditions... :-D
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