In the municipality of Nijkerk, the archaeological excavation of a walburg from the 10th century was completed last week. The territory was then the plaything between the Earl of Hamaland and his daughters.
In 2006, a hiker and amateur archaeologist discovered an abnormal hill in the landscape near Appel in the municipality of Nijkerk. It turned out to be a covered walburg, a fortification of ramparts and moats from the Middle Ages. Relatively few walburgs from this period have been preserved, so that this area has now been given the status of an archaeological national monument. In addition, the archaeological complex turned out to be quite large for Dutch standards, namely 100 by 65 metres.
Function of the shore
The canals around the complex measured almost 5 meters in width and were 2 meters deep. The earthen wall was more than eight meters wide at the foot. Within the ramparts and canals, the archaeologists found traces of habitation, a well and remains of wooden buildings. The fortification was probably intended to protect the smiths and bronze founders. The remains of marsh iron ore and iron slag found within the ramparts prove that they processed the iron ore that was mined in the adjacent iron ore-rich marshland.
Inhabitation within this type of Walburgen was mainly reserved for the nobility. They built the fortifications in the form of embankments of earth, possibly with wooden palisades on top, to protect their properties against attacks from outside.
In Zeeland, for example, various round walburgen, the ringwalburgen, have been found to keep the aggressive Vikings out. The serfs owned by the local lord withdrew behind the ramparts in times of need. The high nobility owned large areas with several defensible courts. They could not live everywhere at once and were locally represented by meiers. These meiers stood between the landlords and their serfs or unfree peasants. The meiers saw to it that the farms were run, the land worked and the products collected for his lord.
The Walburg found near Appel in the municipality of Nijkerk belonged in the 10 e century to the Count Wicham of Hamaland. Quite a lot is known and written about the history of this count and his family. The excavated walburg can thus be linked to historically known persons and their life stories.
Quarrel over inheritance
The county of Hamaland contained the current Veluwe including Appel, the IJsselstreek, the Achterhoek, Montferland and a part across the border near Germany. Just before his death, the powerful Count Wicham founded a nunnery at Elten, which was within his earldom. As starting capital he gave the monastery a part of his possessions, including Appel. His youngest daughter Liutgard was the first abbess to rule the monastery. However, Wicham had an older daughter, Adela, and she did not accept the donations to the monastery, which caused an argument with her father.
After Wicham's death around 973, Liutgard also donated her inheritance to the monastery, leaving Adela with her one-third but crippled. She competed with her sister to have the property divided fairly. Invoking Saxon law, Adela laid a claim to the estates and courts donated to Elten. Liutgard disagreed and the two ruffs fought each other not only with the law but also with the sword. Liutgard burned down a court of Adela and Adela occupied the monastery at Elten.
After Liutgard's death in 996, Adela got her way and the inheritance was fairly split in two after a calculation by a special valuation commission. The Elten monastery kept part of the goods at Appel. In the end, Adela's struggle against the monastery would not prove very useful. After Adela's death, her daughter Azela would return her inheritance to the monastery when she entered there. The rest of the goods also belonged to Appel.
Iron ore is power
It is unlikely that a noble court once stood within the ramparts at Appel. The area did belong to the counts of Hamaland and later by inheritance to the monastery in Elten. The area was very important to the owners. The mining of iron ore was a sign of power and the nobility had a monopoly on the later bronze working within the Walburg. This economic place was therefore already of essential value and the raised rampart was therefore of great importance to protect it against enemies.