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A castle encampment of Floris V near Edam?
Traces in the landscape as possible remnants of a vanished architectural structure
In 2018 a sunken structure was discovered on the LiDAR map of the Netherlands in a meadow near Edam, on the shore of the former Purmermeer. Due to its rectangular shape, the structure was interpreted as an unknown castle or walled encampment of Count Floris v of Holland. Until about 1322, the site was located in an undyked area, owned by the residents. In 1282, Floris v bought the Waterland region and the Zeevang north of Amsterdam from the Kennemer family Persijn, who were based in Monnickendam in the castrum (castle) ‘Swaensborch’. At that time, the inhabitants wrested themselves from the medieval feudal power structures and resisted the Count’s claims to the common lands. The structure may have been a 14th-century farmer’s rampart to protect cattle. Another possibility is a water canal around a green area, which can also be found in the drained Purmermeer (1612).