This was found and excavated from the ground at the Leidsewallen

Men and women in orange vests and construction helmets are busy with equipment and brushes on the wasteland on the Leidsewallen. Hey, there we suddenly see a wall that was never there before. What exactly is happening there?

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Three days of research

A woman carefully polishes a wall we’ve never seen before and objects disappear into a plastic bag. A man is standing with a shovel in his hand and another woman is sitting with a tablet on her lap. These people are employees of IDDS from Delft, which carries out archaeological investigations. With a team of five certified archaeologists, they conducted three days of research at this construction site in Zoetermeer.

One of the oldest places in Zoetermeer

Margriet Panman, secretary of the Spatial Quality Committee at the municipality of Zoetermeer, explains: “There are five monumental archeology sites in Zoetermeer where research can be conducted. The Dorpsstraat falls under the Dorpsster location, which also includes the Leidsewallen. This street forms a crossing with the Dorpsstraat, which is one of the oldest places in Zoetermeer.”

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Foundations and shards

During the three-day investigation, old materials and items were found. “Old foundations with old bricks from the sixteenth or seventeenth century have been found,” explains Margriet. “In addition, peat stones have been found, which has only happened twice before in the province of South Holland. So there must have been a building, think of an inn, on that spot. Shards of presumably pots or pitchers have also been found. The origin is still being investigated.”

Piece of history underground

The found objects go to the Provincial Archaeological Depot, which is regulated by law. There the shards are kept and managed. “Maybe a vase can be made from the shards,” says Margriet. “The finds are very special for Zoetermeer. We do not have such a rich history as the cities of Leiden and Delft. But for us it is a piece of history of our city that lies underground there.”

As soon as the investigations are still ongoing, it is not yet possible to build on the construction site on the Leidsewallen. The first part already contains a new apartment complex with commercial spaces underneath. Before the start of construction, archaeological research was also carried out there. Now it is the turn of the second part where, after the results of the investigation, the construction of a second residential complex will start.