Newsletter February 2010
Utrecht: First visitor experience centre opens in May
The building contractor is ready. The Domplein movie gets a finishing touch and audiovisual techniques are ready to be installed. All preparations for the first visitor experience centre of Initiative Domplein. This will be located in the medieval basement of the Utrecht School of Arts and is due to open in May.
In the walls of the basement archaeologist of the city of Utrecht recently discovered large remains of the Roman castellum wall. These remains gave an unexpected opportunity to provide the visitor an authentic experience of two thousand years of history. A visit of the centre will be combined with a guided tour on the Dom square, using a life guide or a gps application.
Meanwhile Initiative Domplein works closely together with the archaeologists of the city of Utrecht on the program of requirements for the second visitor experience centre. More news of this project in the next newsletter.
Chester: City Walls Repair
A 25 metre section of Chester’s City Walls was closed after part of the walls collapsed on 3 April 2008 close to the Eastgate Clock. The walls were stabilised and following extensive surveys, work started in the summer 2009 on dismantling and then rebuilding the walls. The work is expected to last around 12 months. In November 2009 the well-preserved remains of a Roman interval tower were found beneath the foundation of the city wall.
Mike Morris, City Archaeologist said:
'We have been working closely with the stonemasons as they carefully dismantled the City Wall. When they came to the bottom, we excavated an archaeological trench to see what lies underneath. To our surprise, almost as soon as we started digging, a well-made sandstone wall appeared. It was running across the line of the City Wall and was more than 1m thick'
Mike Morris, City Archaeologist, continues:
'This is almost certainly the side wall of a Roman interval tower. These were rectangular towers about 6m square, placed regularly every 65m or so along the rear of the main fortress wall. They acted as lookout points and as bases for Roman artillery.
The wall will be left intact and the city wall rebuilt above it. However, a tumble of large stone blocks was found on each side of the Roman wall, probably from the collapse of the tower sometime after the fortress was abandoned and before the City Wall was built. It is hoped that these will be reused in the rebuild so that something of this hidden history is visible for future generations.'
The rebuilding of the City Walls can be followed online with a web camera and photograph gallery at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/citywalls
Chester: Competitiveness Study
Chester Renaissance commissioned Jura Consultants to undertake a competitiveness study of Chester’s City Walls. The two principal aims of the study were to establish the economic contribution of the Walls to the visitor economy. And second to provide an assessment of the most effective and viable way of improving the Walls to boost their contribution to the Chester economy. The most significant aspect of the research was face to face interviews with over 800 visitors to the City walls. The study was completed in late 2009.
This research whilst based in Chester provides a research methodology that can be applied by the Portico partners to help to demonstrate the economic contribution that can be made by cultural heritage assets to their visitor economies. The report also provides an example for the prioritisation of improvement projects for cultural heritage assets.
Results of study
Chester’s Walls were first built by Romans following their conquest and occupation of Britain in 70AD. Research between May 2005 and April 2008 showed that of the 7 million annual visitors to Chester 38% had walked along the Walls. The research also showed that for visitors to Chester, walking the Walls was the fourth most popular activity (after shopping, visiting pubs, cafes and restaurants, and walks along the Rows).
The competitiveness study estimates that the net economic contribution of Chester’s City Walls to the Chester economy is £20.01 million per annum. This equates to the Walls supporting 307 full-time equivalent employment positions in the Chester economy.
The research also asked for areas where the visitor experience could be improved. 27% of Chester residents interviewed identified improved lighting as an important element. 11% of visitors to the Walls suggested improvements to signs and interpretation would be beneficial.
To help define the Portico work in Chester the research identified initial improvements to be focused on: increased marketing, events on the Walls, improved signage, and enhanced interpretation.
Gent: Excavations on Emile Braun square reveal pattern of medieval urbanism
The City’s Archaeology Department examined the Emile Braun square, located between the St Nicolas Church and the belfry, in the heart of the medieval city. The archaeological intervention precedes the transformation of the square into a small sloping green and the construction of an open wooden hall, housing a bicycle shed, an elevator and a ‘grand café’ – all as part of the KoBra Project.
The excavations lasted from August till November 2009. They revealed a disappeared block of houses delineated by the former Korte Ridder street, Goudenleeuw square, Poelje market and Boter market.
Excavations
The basements of the houses were dated from the 13th till the 19th century. Most structures were made of brick, but the archaeologists discovered also pillars, sparing arches and walls made of lime stone. They belonged to the oldest stone houses in this block. Sand extraction pits with fillings from the 10th century onwards attest to the earliest phase of land use in this area. The archaeological remains point at successive waves of urbanism and architectural densification in this block, prior to its demolition in the 1960s.
Gent: Preparing the coin trail
One of the investments of the Portico-project is the visualisation of the mediaeval trade route between Brugge and Köln. This historic track will be visualised by a trail of copper ‘coins’ (medals), laid out in the pavement between Graslei (Lys River) and François Laurent Square (Scheldt River). The coins will be engraved based on historic drawings, photos and texts. Every coin will tell a small part of the city’s history.
In January 2010 dummy coins will be placed at the Boter market in order to test and compare the properties of different materials, including visual aspect and sustainability.
Gent: New City Museum develops multimedia
STAM – Stadsmuseum Gent – develops multimedia which allow visitors to call up information about every street and district in Ghent. The history of each location is told through paintings, drawings, plans, etchings, miniatures, posters, etc. and through lots and lots of photographs. Visitors will be able to consult informative texts about fifty of Ghent’s main sights in English, French and German. The Belfry, Castle of the Counts, Kouter, Vrijdagmarkt, Korenmarkt and Gras- en Korenlei will certainly be among them.
In the weekend of October 9th and 10th 2010 STAM - Ghent City Museum - will open to the public.