De prestedelijke ontwikkeling van Sittard op basis van archeologisch onderzoek

Samenvatting

The pre-urban development of Sittard based on archaeological research

Based on excavations in the ‘noordelijke schootsvelden’ and several other digs in and around the old town centre, part of Sittard’s pre-urban development can be reconstructed. The Geleenbeek, which now flows west of the old centre, ran straight through the later town during the High Middle Ages. There, the stream formed part of the moat surrounding the motte (a mound with a fortified house on top). The motte was probably founded at the end of the eleventh century. It included an outer bailey that housed its economic buildings. This outer bailey gradually expanded, as can be deduced from the three phases of its moat system, which became slightly larger each time.
Over time, many inhabited plots (‘erven’) were established around the motte—first to the south of the Geleenbeek and later also to the north. Most of these plots were likely occupied by people who led an agricultural life. They lived in byre-houses and had on their plots a well, one or several granaries on stilts, and sometimes a barn or a sunken-floored hut. Two plots probably served special functions on behalf of the lord of the motte: one plot may have been used to receive and process taxes paid in kind, and another likely functioned as an accommodation site for travellers visiting the motte complex. The occupation of these plots ended abruptly between 1225 and 1250, when Sittard’s first town enclosure was constructed.