THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS—The foundations of a medieval gate have been uncovered at the Binnenhof, a building complex in the center of The Hague, according to a report in the NL Times. Called the Spuipoort, the gate was built in 1352 and served as the entrance to the Binnenhof, which was surrounded by a system of double moats and gates. “The Binnenhof was where the power was, so only the elite came under the gate,” said archaeologist Peter Stokkel. The medieval Spuipoort featured two slender, round towers with a central archway. These towers were replaced with octagonal towers situated on the same foundations in the fifteenth century. The gate was eventually demolished in 1861. Stokkel explained that 3D scanning has been employed to record the placement of each remaining brick resting near the current Tweede Kamer building, where the lower house of parliament meets. The historic foundations will eventually be incorporated into a new entrance to the Tweede Kamer. To read about efforts to virtually unfold a cache of undelivered seventeenth-century letters found in The Hague, go to "Return to Sender."
