Unique archaeological find in Hoorn: “Piece by piece glued together”

The collection is carefully placed in the Noorderkerk in Hoorn. One-off. There is a lot of pottery to see, but also glassware and other utensils, such as spoons and – very special – gold throat buttons. It all belonged to the Sonck and Coninck families, one of the richest families of Hoorn from the 17th century. At the time, they lived in the stately building at Ramen 1. The Coninck family took over from the Sonck family.

The archaeologists are very excited about the find, which was already made in 2019. “This is the most special thing that has been found in Hoorn in 60 years of archeology. Not only because of its size, but also because we know who it belonged to,” says researcher Christiaan Schrickx. He got caught up in the story and went looking. Through wanderings he found out that the find can be linked to the Sonck and Coninck families. “That makes it even more unique and is what you prefer: the complete story. Not just an object, but also the history behind it.”

Chief constable

It is no coincidence that two paintings by Albert and Elizabeth Sonck, made by the painter Rotius, hang in the Westfries Museum. It indicates how important the family was to the city of Hoorn in the 17th century, archaeologist Michiel Bartels also knows. “He was mayor of Hoorn and also chief sheriff. They were really in charge. It would be nice if part of this collection were placed with the canvases in the museum.”

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The excavations were done at the Nieuwe Noord. That’s where the cesspool opened. Literal. Schrickx: “The cesspit not only served as a toilet, but all sorts of things were thrown into it. Food scraps, for example. We found bittern bones and other shot game. You don’t see that much. And utensils were also deposited in it. We found, for example, rummers. Those are luxurious, large wine glasses. That shows the wealth of the families.”

Piece by piece

So a lot was excavated, then the big puzzling could begin. Piece by piece. Because no jar, glass or plate came whole from the soil of Hoorn. Bartels: “That takes a lot of time. We have a volunteer in Joost Lubbers with an extremely steady hand. He can glue glass very well, for example. That is like gluing a broken Christmas bauble back together. Really piece by piece, very clever. “

Tonight the excavated collection was presented once to interested parties. It is intended that in the future it will be given a place in the renovated town hall of Hoorn. “In this way, past and present come together nicely,” says Schrickx. “Because Sonck was also mayor of Hoorn.”