Special find donated by Jos Kortis from Voerendaal

In a field in Voerendaal, Jos Kortis (63) discovered a remarkable stone when he was a teenager. Last week he handed it over to the Limburgs Museum. According to researcher Henk Hiddink and curator Bibi Beekman, it may be a dwarf column from the villa of Voerendaal. The column is therefore at least 1,800 years old.

For 47 years he kept a unique archaeological find in his room: a piece of what is probably a decorative little column. According to Henk Hiddink, the small column may possibly have been reused in the Middle Ages as a sharpening stone for farming tools. Additional research is needed to be certain of this.

Curator Bibi Beekman of the Limburgs Museum was very enthusiastic when Jos emailed about this find. It is a fine addition to the collection of the Limburgs Museum. Next year this unique find will travel with the exhibition on the Roman villa landscape, in collaboration with the National Museum of Antiquities, the Limburgs Museum and the Thermenmuseum in Heerlen.

People in the photo from left to right: Henk Hiddink, Bibi Beekman and Jos Kortis.