De oudste mijnbouw in Nederland

Abstract

In 1881 flint-working sites were discovered in the south of the Netherlands, in the neighbourhood of Maastricht near the Belgium border. Specially Belgium archeologists from the university of Liege did field work in this site till 1953. In 1914 the first shaft and a mining gallery were found in the wall of a small ravine. During 1923-1925 Prof. Dr. v. Giffen and Dr. v.d. Sleen were the first archeologists of Dutch origin who did some succesful excavations. In 1964 Prof.Dr. Waterbolk from the Biological Archeological Institute of the Groningen University discovered a couple of shafts more than 140 meters from the ravine. So he proved that a very extended mining-activity had existed in neolithic times. At that time, twelve members of the Netherlands Geological Association planned to continue the excavations by digging a gallery from the first-discovered flintmines up to the new shaftfield. This gallery will have a total length of ± 140 m. At both sides 10 meters of the chalk-rock had to be explored on prehistorical mining activities. The members of the group, working in the week-ends during more than 4 years, made a gallery of 100 meters length already and penetrated into the prehistorical flintmines. They have dug out more than 500 meters of ancient galleries and discovered about 35 shafts. A deep insight has been obtained in the mining-system of the neolithic miners, who used the pillar and room system and made shafts of ± 10 meters deep. More than 7500 flint-picks, used during the work, have been found, some deerhornpicks, charcoal and a human skull. A radio-carbon determination of the charcoal dated the prehistorical mining activities at 3150 (± 60) before Christ. During the more than four years of excavations the working method was modernized. Starting with barrows, changing over to lorries, the group now uses a beltconveyor. Instead of steelpicks, now pneumatic hammers are used and the working-site is lighted by electric lamps. A great deal of work is still to be done by the members of the group before the gallery will be completed over its total length. The working group proved that the neolithic flintmining industry in the Netherlands is of the same rank as that of Spiennes in Belgium and of other well-known neolithic mines in Europe.