For years there have been archaeological finds in a display case in Museum Gramsbergen. So far it is not clear whether they have anything to do with Battle of Ane from 1227. This week the National Service for Cultural Heritage came by for an investigation. The results range from nothing at all to spectacular. A number of things such as a stirrup and a crossbow arrow may have been used at the Battle of Ane.
In Museum Gramsbergen, the hall that is dedicated to the Battle of Ane is a bit of the showpiece. Gramsbergen is a stone’s throw from Ane. In the Middle Ages, the area consisted of kilometers of vast swamp soils. Somewhere on the fields around the village, two armies once met: the knight army of Bishop Otto van Lippe and the allegedly farmer’s army under the leadership of Rudolf van Coevorden, Burggraaf of that Vesting city and deputy ruler over Drenthe.
Rudolf appropriated more power and that was against the will of the bishop, actually his boss. The bishop therefore went to Drenthe to get a grip in his area again. The heavily equipped army of the bishop seemed to the advantage, but the location ultimately made the difference. Because the army of Utrecht got stuck in the swamp, causing the Drenten to win the victory.
Over the years, silent witnesses appeared from the peat soils between Coevorden and Ane. In 1948 many utensils were found during iron disease near Holthone. The then mayor De Goede was there as the chickens to buy those things. Or rather: to exchange. “He exchanged them for a lot of tobacco,” laughs Jan Horsman from Museum Gramsbergen. “The things ended up in the town hall and were later donated to this museum. This includes a horseshoe, a buckle, a arrowhead, a stirrup and piece of iron that may come from a harness.”
There has never been certainty about the exact date of the objects. “Everything is made of iron, so we cannot determine that further,” says Horsman. At Hout you can count the rings again. “Measuring is knowing and that is why the National Service for Cultural Heritage is coming to determine old age. Horsman certainly thinks that the things are dealing with the Battle of Ane.” Hundred percent. “
Is that prediction hardly reduced? That is up to researchers Jan van Doesbrug, Rik Ypey and Bertil van Os from the National Service. They display a whole battery of equipment. “We are going to measure the composition of iron,” Van Doesburg explains. “We also make three -dimensional recordings of the objects that are distorted. We want to restore them digitally in its former glory. Of course that is not possible in real life, because then we would destroy the things.”
According to Van Doesburg, it is about new techniques and research methods. “We look at finds that have already been investigated and described again. Perhaps that provides new information, so that we can tell more stories about the battlefield.”
All these actions are needed to get an answer to that one question. Is this actually about things used by the Battle of? The researchers have already done a lot of work. Depots and already done historical and archaeological research have not really yielded anything substantial, says Ypey. “We think that today we will find things that are going to contribute enormously,” is his conviction.
The equipment quickly brings clarity: the piece ‘harness’ soon turns out to be something else. “Probably cast iron,” says Van Doesburg. Coming from a piece of agricultural tool from the 19th or 20th century. “But soon real treasures are popping up. A twisted piece of iron turns out to be a rice bracket.” Very well possible that it comes from the 13th century and used by the Ane battle. This is already a spectacular find. “
The equestrian rider also seems to come from that time. Van Doesburg: “The tip is of brass with additional mixing of all kinds of other metals.” Typical for the Middle Ages. Finally, the crossbow arrow point is also promising, says Ypey. “In the core there is still wood. On the basis of carbon dating we can determine the age further. But Ypey is already half convinced.” This is exactly what we are looking for. “
The National Service conducts even more research, but the ride to Gramsbergen was more than worth it, says Van Doesburg. The intention is to exhibit the authentic objects in 2027. In that year it is 800 years ago that the Battle of Ane took place.