A cannon dating from the time the Emperor Napoleon held sway in our regions has been found in the silt of the River Schelde. The discovery was made in the course of dredging works for the new Schelde Tunnel in Antwerp. The artifact is now being examined and cleaned. Plans are already afoot to put the cannon on display in the open air at a spot in the city that has links to France's Emperor Napoleon that played such an important role in Antwerp's development.
‘Last week, the company processing dredging sludge notified us that a cannon had been found in the slurry,’ says Antwerp city archaeologist Femke Martens. The River Schelde (Scheldt) is currently being dredged to allow the construction of the new Schelde Tunnel.
‘It was a large cast iron piece, over 3 metres long, with an anchor clearly recognisable on it. That's why we immediately knew that it dates from the time of Napoleon. The anchor was used by the French military fleet.’
‘We suspect it is a 36-pounder. That cannon fires balls weighing 18 kilograms. It was usually used on ships and stood on a wooden structure that absorbed the recoil,’ Martens explains.
‘The cannon dates from the late 18th century or early 19th century. It was found not far from the Fort du Nord, a fortress built on a bend in the River Schelde under Napoleon.’
‘Napoleon was very important for Antwerp. He sowed the seeds of Antwerp as a modern port city. Napoleon invested a lot in Antwerp as a military base because of the city's interesting strategic location.’
‘It is a unique find. To my knowledge, a cannon like this has never been found in Antwerp before. We are now busy contacting colleagues in Brussels to see if they already have a cannon like this in their possession. In the Netherlands, you find several.’
The cannon will now be taken to the municipal archaeological depot for further research. It will also be cleaned. ‘In time, we would like to exhibit the cannon outdoors in a place that has a link to Napoleon, like the Schelde Quays,’ says Martens.