Jewish ghetto dating to 17th century discovered in Amsterdam

The remnants of a 17th century Jewish ghetto was unearthed during excavations in Amsterdam earlier this month. The discovery was made by a construction crew digging a foundation for a housing complex and hotel on Valkenburgerstraat, just north of an Esnoga. According to municipal archaeologist Jerzy Gawronski, this was a "spectacular find". "I'm here with my feet in a century old street." Gawronski said to local broadcaster AT5. The streets, or "corridors", in the Jewish slum were only about a meter wide. "It was a bad place to be, sometimes ten people in one small house. It was damp, no windows and not many survived here", the archaeologist said. The area was initially destined to be an island port for the construction of inland vessels in 1594. It was turned into ghetto dwellings for poor Jewish people when the ship construction was moved to Kattenburg and Wittenburg. The ghetto was cleaned up in 1930, yet very little is left to find. With good reason, according to Garonski. "The people were so poor, they hardly had any waste." The discovery was documented in photographs before the ghetto was covered p again in preparation for construction to continue.

In de Valkenburgerstraat zijn de restanten van een eeuwenoude Joodse sloppenwijk gevonden https://t.co/vIa0Ol9meN pic.twitter.com/TgAxmOXeb1

— AT5 (@AT5) April 11, 2016