Often prehistoric artefacts are only than discovered at the sorting installations where gravel and sand are processed and usually you only roughly know where these things were dredged up. We know that dozens of utensils, jewellery and weapons from the Bronze Age (2000-800 BC) emerged from the river Meuse near Roermond. Among them are many special pieces. They must have been precious at the time. One of the oldest bronze objects of our country, was dredged up near Hatenboer, west of Roermond. It's a so-called halberd, a weapon. Occasionally, the handles were made of bronze or even of arsenic-rich copper, one of the earliest metals in use. Because bronze was cast, new weaponry could also be developed. Tiny daggers dating back to the Stone Age developed into long daggers, knives and swords. Many were retrieved from the Meuse and this makes it clear that mankind trusted objects to the water for a long time.
NOTE: The Archeo location can be found opposite café Kanters, Maasstraat 5 Herten/Ool.
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Ruhr Museum
Church Square 10, 6077 AA St. Odille Mountain
Open Sunday 13:30-17:00.
TIP: This location is part of the Ode aan de Maas