May 26, 2014 sees the first issue of the magazine FRIET. The main theme of this publication is archaeology for children aged 9 and upwards in Amsterdam and the surrounding areas.
Issue number 1, entitled FRIET speciaal, features archaeological discoveries of synthetic materials that were dug up during the construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn (North/South metro line). The magazine contains some 40 objects and fragments, accompanied by their descriptions and a map of Amsterdam showing the sites of the excavations.
The archaeological study of the Noord/Zuidlijn was carried out in the 10-year period 2003-2012 by the Bureau Monumenten & Archaeology (Monuments & Archaeology Office) under the supervision of city archaeologist Jerzy Gawronski, and was commissioned by the Dienst Metro, Amsterdam. During that period, almost 700,000 items of interest were found, almost 30,000 of which have been photographed.
The most important excavation sites of the Noord/Zuidlijn, which runs straight through the historical centre of Amsterdam, were the Damrak and the Rokin. The layers of ground at the bottom of the sites, some 25 metres deep, dated from the last Ice Age, which ended 10,000 years ago.
Above this layer was the river bed of the River Amstel, which used to flow through here. It was some 12 metres deep and full of archaeological remains (in those days, people would often throw their waste into the water, or objects fell into the river by accident, sinking deep into the mud).
The publication is a 48-page photo magazine based on an idea and design of Strak/Van Zoetendaal (photographer Harold Strak and graphic designer Willem van Zoetendaal). Each synthetic object is numbered separately and in the final section of the magazine you will find a catalogue listing the find code, a description, the dimensions and a date in Dutch.
Although it is primarily a photo magazine, it can also be used as an educational tool to introduce children to the wonderful world of history and archaeology in a playful manner (helping them to recognise broken objects, lost objects, as well as the relations between objects).
In Dutch language only!