One of the FIC communities, Sint-Michielsgestel in the Netherlands, was discontinued various years ago, but the work of the brothers Celestinus Vencken and Arno Veldhoven (deceased 1987) has not been lost. In the Institute for the Deaf the present administrators have made room for a splendid museum of antiquities, the basis for which was laid by these two brothers. In this way 'our own history was upheld and the heritage transferred with dignity'.

In short: A story about the Romans in the clay of Brabant and an amateur archeologist who worked with an expert approach.

Archeology

'I have only consciously gone in for archeology in 1962', Celestinus tells us. 'In September of that year coins were found in the hamlet of Halder - in the rural district of Sint-Michielsgestel, about four kilometres south of Den Bosch. Besides shards of Roman pottery and four silver little spoons, Roman coins were found there. Arno and myself had our attention drawn to this and we were invited to participate in the searching and in the excavation work. In this way we came into contact with prof. Bogaers of the State Service for Archeological Investigation (R.O.B.). He gave us directions for further archeological work and encouraged us in our work'

Unique finds

The first finds were followed by more. People round there would tell the brothers when something 'of long ago' was found. In so far as their activities at the Institute for the Deaf permitted, .the brothers came into action then. In 1964, for example, a completely undamaged Roman grave was found: a place where the bodies of deceased Romans were cremated. Their ashes were placed in the grave, a coin and mortuary gifts in the form of useful articles being added.

In the course of years six Roman wells were discovered, two store pits of a Roman potter dating from 50 AD, a Roman grave from 170 AD and a kiln. Their most important and most beautiful find was probably a big Roman vase - an amphora - with two handles.

Expert approach

'I may be an amateur archeologist, but I do not do my work in an amateurish way', Celestinus confesses. 'I have familiarised myself with all aspects of my hobby. Not for nothing I have been an assistant of the R.O.B. from 1966 to 2002. We wanted to exhibit the material that we had found, in a suitable place in the Institute for the Deaf. The management gave us permission to use one of the attics for this purpose. In order to be able to arrange things in a professional way I followed a museum course. There I was taught about air conditioning in an exhibition room. We were trained in restoring archeological material, keeping documentation up to date et cetera'.

Celestinus and Arno aimed at bringing old matter to life in a professional way. For this purpose, for instance, a grave was imitated exactly to size. Moreover, glass cases were bought to display the objects that had been found, the Roman grave was restored and displayed in its original condition, and the kiln reconstructed. Thanks to the help of many, in this way the museum in the attic could be realised. They joined the Foundation of Brabant museums. Many groups of primary and secondary school pupils came to visit the museum and for adults too the museum was an excellent place to pay a visit to. And Celestinus made sure that the discovered objects from the Roman times were brought to life.

New museum

At the time it was a heavy blow for the brothers when they had to leave Sint-Michielsgestel, especially so for Celestinus Vencken, for whom it was very unpleasant indeed: for what was going to happen to his museum?

Strangely enough, very soon we were offered a new place when it had become clear what was going to be done with some of the large accommodations in the institute. We could make use of the former 'boys' chapel', the sacristy and the adjoining chapel of the community. A godsend'.

In 1993 it fell to brother Celestinus Vencken to open the new museum. His lifework in the archeological field has been sorted out again and analysed for the 'lay' visitor in the former big chapel. In the side chapel is housed the actual museum with the exhibited finds. The converted confessionals are used for the rotating collections, while in the sacristy an audio-visual room was created where a presentation will be given of the 'Latinisation' of Brabant. The museum also possesses two teaching chests containing Roman material to be used by primary schools. They contain copies of shards, coins, many pictures and assignments that may be carried out. The museum is administered by the Foundation Museum of Antiquities Sint-Michielsgestel.

Meanwhile in a site-hut in Halder a small mobile museum has been fitted up with all kinds of finds from this hamlet. To quote Bro. Celestinus: 'It stimulates the sense of connectedness of the people of today with the rich history of their forbears. It is also a stimulus to go and visit the newly fitted up museum. And I hope it will give everybody the feeling that we can only live as we are doing now on the shoulders and in the footsteps of the people that have gone before us. If this awareness sinks into people's minds, it will contribute to an enhancement of the dignity of existence. Then it will make all of us feel that we live from a rich tradition which is worth sorting out. I am proud of having been privileged to contribute my mite to this'.

Source: Oriëntatie FIC, 2002, nr. 1

Author: Wim Swüste

Translation: Bro. Theo van Schaick , f.i.c.

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