The remains of a medieval motte are being excavated in the Prinsenhof in Ghent. The Prinsenhof is an historical area in the city built around the former castle Hof ten Walle, the former residence of the Viscounts of Ghent and birthplace of Emperor Charles V, the last Burgundian ruler of our climes.
A motte is an artificial hill on which a castle stood. In the Middle Ages, the Prinsenhof consisted of two mottes or islands surrounded by moats. Archaeologists have now stumbled upon one of these islands and its accompanying moat and are investigating the remains.
‘We are doing excavations as part of a major new construction project involving property developer Acasa,’ explains Robrecht Vanoverbeke of archaeological surveyors BAAC. ‘Nowadays this is mandatory, because this is an archaeological protected site.’
During the excavations, archaeologists encountered quite a few interesting items. The wooden structure of a former motte was uncovered. This is a raised island on which a castle or palace stood.
Home to the dukes of Burgundy
First this was the residence of the viscounts of Ghent. It passed on to the counts of Flanders, who could no longer be accommodated in the Castle of the Counts, the Gravensteen, and later, during the Middle Ages, the dukes of Burgundy moved in as they assumed control of our regions.
Besides the motte, the moat around the island has also been uncovered. ‘In it we found a lot of debris, pottery, nails, musket balls used in guns as well as animal bones. The remains all date from the late Middle Ages, from the 15th and 16th centuries,’ Robrecht Vanoverbeke explains.
‘We also found bricks from the bridge that ran across the moat from the bank to the motte island. We are finding a lot of tangible items from the original Prinsenhof.’
The archaeologists are continuing to investigate the moat and the motte island. ‘We have examined about two-thirds, the rest we still have to excavate. In the days the dukes of Burgundy held sway here, there was also a ‘Lion court’, a small zoo where real lions were kept. We secretly hope to find a lion skeleton. I think the chances are slim, but you never know.’
Burgundians in the spotlight
Bart Van Loo, author of Times Book of the Year 'The Burgundians' also mentions the zoo in his latest book ‘Stoute Schoenen’ (Bold Shoes). ‘The Prinsenhof was where the counts of Flanders and later the dukes of Burgundy resided, when they were in Ghent. From Louis of Male onwards, they started turning it into a luxury palace. And under the dukes of Burgundy - from Philip the Bold to Philip the Good - it became a beautiful and elegant castle,’ says Bart Van Loo.
‘There was also a menagerie, you could call it one of the first zoos in Europe. Aristocrats and wealthy citizens came from far and wide to see the confined animals, the bears, wolves, lynxes, leopards and, of course, the lions.’
Animals also inhabited the moat. ‘As with any serious castle, there was also a moat. I discovered that under Emperor Charles V, who I consider the last Burgundian ruler, the lion population had dwindled to eight, but that seven seals were also spotted in the moat,’ Bart Van Loo writes.