More than 400 years ago, this Dutch woman fought bravely to defend her hometown from the Spanish.
When in late 2010 a group of Leiden students were excavating in preparation for the construction of a parking lot in the center of Alkmaar (Netherlands), they got a big surprise: they unexpectedly discovered a mass grave from the Eighty Years' War.
Of course, when the students started excavating, they guessed that they would be unearthing ancient graves. From 1448 to 1574, a monastery stood on the site, and a monastery is usually associated with a cemetery. However, no one expected, in addition to monastic remains, to find in the grave the skeletons of women and young men with numerous skull injuries. Obviously, the buried had died violent deaths. In the end, two mass graves were excavated. One contained the bones of 22 young men, and the other contained a woman, three elderly men, three young men of about 17 years of age, and a small child. Apparently these men had died in the siege of Alkmaar in 1573, during the Eighty Years' War.
The skeleton of a woman aged 26-35 has attracted particular attention. The lady is about 1.68 meters tall. Judging by the wear and tear on her spine and joints, the woman was accustomed to physical labor and clearly did not belong to a privileged class. Why did she end up in this grave? It is known that women took an active part in the defense of the city, helped in caring for the wounded, and also defended the city walls.
Archaeologists announced a contest for a name for the woman, and the name “Brecht van Alkmaar” eventually won.
The cause of Brecht's death is unclear. Did she starve to death or was she killed in battle? Unfortunately, skeletal analysis did not provide an answer.
The Eighty Years' War, or Dutch War of Independence, was a rebellion against King Philip II of Spain, and the siege of Alkmaar proved to be a turning point in the war. The siege was led by Don Fadrique of Toledo, son of the “Iron Duke” of Alva. The confrontation lasted from August 21 to October 8, 1573. In the end, the townspeople turned to the Prince of Orange for help. In response, he promised to open the floodgates of the dikes and flood the region if the need arose, which he did despite protests from peasants fearing for their crops. Some of his reports fell into the hands of Don Fadrique, and as the waters began to rise, the Spaniards fled. Alkmaar became the first city to overcome the siege of the Spanish army.
It was a hard battle. Boiling tar and hot water poured from the city wall, burning branches flew, and a hail of bullets and cannonballs rained down on the defenders. The townswomen participated in the battle on an equal footing with the men and became famous for their bravery. Legends even preserve the name of one of the defenders of Alkmaar - Triin Rembrandts. True, it is not clear whether she existed in reality. But the participation in the defense of the heroine of this post “Brecht van Alkmaar” is very likely.
Brecht found her face after 437 years. With the help of CT scans, a virtual model of the skull was obtained, from which the Archaeological Center Het Huis van Hilde made a sculptural reconstruction of the appearance.
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More than 400 years ago, this Dutch woman fought bravely to defend her hometown from the Spanish.
When in late 2010 a group of Leiden students were excavating in preparation for the construction of a parking lot in the center of Alkmaar (Netherlands), they got a big surprise: they unexpectedly discovered a mass grave from the Eighty Years' War.
Of course, when the students started excavating, they guessed that they would be unearthing ancient graves. From 1448 to 1574, a monastery stood on the site, and a monastery is usually associated with a cemetery. However, no one expected, in addition to monastic remains, to find in the grave the skeletons of women and young men with numerous skull injuries. Obviously, the buried had died violent deaths.
In the end, two mass graves were excavated. One contained the bones of 22 young men, and the other contained a woman, three elderly men, three young men of about 17 years of age, and a small child. Apparently these men had died in the siege of Alkmaar in 1573, during the Eighty Years' War.
The skeleton of a woman aged 26-35 has attracted particular attention. The lady is about 1.68 meters tall. Judging by the wear and tear on her spine and joints, the woman was accustomed to physical labor and clearly did not belong to a privileged class. Why did she end up in this grave? It is known that women took an active part in the defense of the city, helped in caring for the wounded, and also defended the city walls.
Archaeologists announced a contest for a name for the woman, and the name “Brecht van Alkmaar” eventually won.
The cause of Brecht's death is unclear. Did she starve to death or was she killed in battle? Unfortunately, skeletal analysis did not provide an answer.
The Eighty Years' War, or Dutch War of Independence, was a rebellion against King Philip II of Spain, and the siege of Alkmaar proved to be a turning point in the war. The siege was led by Don Fadrique of Toledo, son of the “Iron Duke” of Alva. The confrontation lasted from August 21 to October 8, 1573. In the end, the townspeople turned to the Prince of Orange for help. In response, he promised to open the floodgates of the dikes and flood the region if the need arose, which he did despite protests from peasants fearing for their crops. Some of his reports fell into the hands of Don Fadrique, and as the waters began to rise, the Spaniards fled. Alkmaar became the first city to overcome the siege of the Spanish army.
It was a hard battle. Boiling tar and hot water poured from the city wall, burning branches flew, and a hail of bullets and cannonballs rained down on the defenders. The townswomen participated in the battle on an equal footing with the men and became famous for their bravery. Legends even preserve the name of one of the defenders of Alkmaar - Triin Rembrandts. True, it is not clear whether she existed in reality. But the participation in the defense of the heroine of this post “Brecht van Alkmaar” is very likely.
Brecht found her face after 437 years. With the help of CT scans, a virtual model of the skull was obtained, from which the Archaeological Center Het Huis van Hilde made a sculptural reconstruction of the appearance.
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