In June-August 2010 large scale excavations were executed on the cemetery belonging to the monastery, an area now termed the Paardenmarkt, by Hollandia Archeologen in cooperation with Leiden University... continues...
This is a follow-up to the News Item by 'Sweetcheat'
A 2010 excavation of the remains of a Franciscan monastery that stood below Alkmaar's present-day Paardenmarkt between 1448 to 1574, uncovered a mass grave dating from 1573, the year when Alkmaar was besieged by the Spaniards.
But more excitingly, further research below a layer of drift sand revealed a unique prehistoric tomb dating back to the Iron Age - around 700 BCE.
The sandy soils of the Netherlands rarely preserve remains of this age (not even bones), but remarkably, a silhouette was discovered, in the customary squatting interment position of that era. The silhouette was protected by a coating of lacquer and removed in its entirety for preservation.