Archaeologists have found evidence shows that the East Flemish town of Ninove was already inhabited in 11th century. During a dig they found medieval pits that were used to store waste or to extract clay. The archaeologist Wouter De Maeyer told VRT News "Hopefully, this find will also help us learn more about the origins of the town of Ninove".
It was during excavations at the Church of Our Lady of Ascension in Ninove that archaeologists found pits dug by the then inhabitants of the town in the 11th century. It is not entirely clear what the pits were used for. "They were probably used for collecting waste. Another option is that the pit was used to extract clay," says Bart Cherretté of the local development agency SOLVA told VRT News.
Thanks to the find, archaeologists can now say with certainty that people were already living in Ninove in the 11th century. "Now we're going to see if we can find a pattern in the different pits. If we notice that the pits are all aligned, then we can say that there were several homes here", archaeologist Wouter De Maeyer said.
Origins of the town
Mr De Maeyer added that "The find is also important to help is learn more out how the town of Ninove came into being. We still only know very little about Ninove in this period. There may also be pits concealed at other places in the town, although as yet we have no indications that this is the case."
This weekend archaeologists will give a talk on the excavations they have carried out at the church and some special finds will be shown to the public. Anyone that is interested can learn more about the remains of an old Romanesque church and a 13th century stone house that have also been unearthed by archeologists in Ninove.