Mysterious hole in the Great Hall: mystery solved

 

The RACM (National Service for Archaeology, Cultural Landscape and Monuments) has solved the mystery of the hole in the middle of the castle ruin's Great Hall! The hole is the result of a combination of factors.

 

The mystery

Around August 2007, people began to notice a hole forming slowly but surely in the Great Hall of the castle ruin. It all started during a mediaeval fair when an iron rod was struck into the ground to play horseshoes. Before long, the rod had sunk all the way through the floor. The hole continued to grow; it soon measured one and a half metres wide and half a metre deep. Down to a depth of 1.70 m, the soil was loose and people standing on it fell through easily. Only below that depth was the ground more solid.

 

Causes

After a comprehensive investigation, the RACM concluded that the cause of the hole in the Great Hall was a sunken foundation that had slowly begun settling shortly after the destruction of the castle in 1672. In the early 20th century, an archaeological excavation was conducted here, but this excavation was never documented and so remained unknown. Then, in the mid-1950s, a cable slot was dug straight through this old excavation for a lighting system to be installed in the ruin.

The games played at the mediaeval fairs held here in recent years included horseshoes played at this location, and the rod was struck into the floor here. As soon as the rod was removed, rainwater was able to flow through the hole and travel deep into the ground. The combination of all these factors caused the ground to start settling again, and the heavy rains of the past year sped up this process considerably.

 

(posted: September 2008)

Historic find at the Valkenburg Castle ruin!

Medallion of Bishop Engelbert I of Cologne

 

On September 3 of last year, archaeologists of the RACM (National Service for Archaeology, Cultural Landscapes and Monuments) came across a remarkable find in an excavation here at the ruins of Valkenburg Castle: an early 13th century coin.

A local member of the Valkenburg Archaeological Working Group using a metal detector fished a small, flat coin out of the excavated rubble.

Upon further examination, it proved to be a 13th century coin known, a "bishop's medallion" bearing the likeness of Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne from 1216 to 1255.

The medallion was sent to the RACM laboratory for further restoration and study. The Valkenburg Castle Foundation hopes to have it returned soon.

 

Engelbert I

Engelbert I was a powerful man of high standing, whose authority extended beyond the church; in fact, he wielded de facto control over many lands, city-states and manors far and wide around the diocese of Cologne. In 1225, he was brutally murdered, and died as a martyr. Although revered by many as a saint, he was never officially canonised. His feast day is 7 November (Saint Engelbert's Day).

 

In Engelbert I's time, Dirk I of Valkenburg reigned over the castle and the lands of Valkenburg, which was going through a golden age in this period. Under Dirk, and his son, Dirk II, the castle grew into a mighty fortress. It was around this time that the lords of the castle had secret passageways dug leading out of the castle into the surrounding woods. Dirk I was the grandfather of both the celebrated Walram de Rosse and Beatrice of Falkenburg, who married Richard Earl of Cornwall (nephew of Richard the Lionheart).

 

(posted: September 2008)