The Treasure of Beerlegem, a story in the ErfgoedApp

Finding treasure stimulates the imagination of countless children. And sometimes... it really happens!

In the 1950s, Hubert De Pessemier lived in Zwalm, a man who dug up sand from the ground and sold it. Occasionally, while digging, he would find a shard or a rare gem. But one day, Hubert stumbled upon a beautiful old pot and a spearhead. The remarkable find quickly attracted the attention of a number of archaeologists, and the sand quarry was transformed into an archaeological site.

In the years that followed, more than 100 graves were uncovered at the site. The location turned out to be a large burial site from the Merovingian period in the early Middle Ages. At that time, there was a cemetery here, at the highest point of the (present-day) village of Beerlegem. Among the rows of unusual graves, one grave stood out in particular. It was a burial vault with an old oak floor and a number of exceptionally beautiful grave goods: the Treasure of the Lady of Beerlegem ...

Excitement and adventure

Today , the tomb of the Lady of Beerlegem is the highlight of De Schat van Beerlegem (The Treasure of Beerlegem), a child-friendly heritage walk in Zwalm, a municipality in the Flemish Ardennes. When developing the walk, the Flemish Ardennes Heritage Cell deliberately chose the ErfgoedApp. You can read in this blog how creating and designing such a heritage walk can also be quite an adventure.

To begin with, it was incredibly exciting to delve into the past, look up all kinds of facts and trivia, and go on a journey of discovery. In addition, there were also a lot of practical matters to take care of, such as mapping out the route. This formed the basis of the heritage story and also provided a lot of inspiration for fun and interesting facts. When planning the route, we made good use of the walking junction network, so that we could take full advantage of ready-made signage and a safe route.

Then came the content. The highlight was the Merovingian burial site, but we also wanted to take the young people back in time, step by step. Like a time machine, each POI (point of interest, ed.) flashes you deeper into the past based on a number of elements in the environment and landscape. Each of these are anchors from the past, which we linked to life today.

We start at the church, where walkers can compare old photos with the current village view. What are the differences between then and now? What has changed? To bring the past and present closer together, we used a fun feature in the ErfgoedApp allows you to 'scratch away' a photo. Little by little, the underlying photo emerges and you discover the differences.

Further along the walk, and thus further back in time, we show an image of an archaeological site. By scratching away the traces in the landscape on the screen, you can bring out the archaeologist in you. Gradually, the excavation becomes visible. In the next photo, you then go in search of grave goods and other finds. Archaeology is quite exciting and fascinating, even in photos!

The power of stories

There is no shortage of stories and photos, thanks in part to our local heritage partners. For example, the route also passes an old boarding school. We found dozens of old photos on the Flemish Ardennes Heritage Bank, which quickly gave rise to a story about the lives of the boarding school girls.

During the walk and in the stories, we combine culture and nature, landscape and landscape elements, human interventions from the past and present. The ErfgoedApp once again to be a valuable tool. Playing a quiz, watching a video, scratching off photos, listening to audio clips... the ErfgoedApp it all. As a creator, you can easily build in variety to keep the walk interesting.

Let's go!

The next, very important step in the creative process was to write out the story and then divide it into fragments along the route. To do this, we called on a small test audience. Together, we set off on our journey. We listened carefully to the reactions of these 'test walkers' and discovered where the story was moving too quickly or was too long-winded, and where attention was flagging and more action was needed.

After a few adjustments to the storyline, we managed to condense the texts into a short and powerful whole. Experience had taught us that people on location prefer to listen rather than look at a screen, so we opted for short audio clips. With a portable digital home studio (what's in a name!), we sought out Mout Uyttersprot to record the texts. With his enthusiastic voice and keen empathy, he brought the story to life. The spoken audio guide was ready and could be added to the heritage walk.

A unique man, a unique place

With the audio guide in hand, the heritage walk was almost complete. All that remained was the ultimate test: trying out the walk itself a few times. Together with my colleague Lien Urmel, we set off. And with 23 POIs, there was quite a bit to do... It was enjoyable, and the storyline was becoming increasingly coherent.

But the real highlight came when we approached the archaeological site one day. There, in the sand quarry, Hubert De Pessemier, the man who discovered the burial site at the time, was still pursuing his passion and work. He was now 90 years old, but still thoroughly enjoyed his work from his crane. The stories about the excavation, now 70 years ago, rolled out of his memory as if it were yesterday. It was fantastic to take a heritage walk through the past and just happen to encounter a direct witness. Hubert beamed as he recounted the excavations, his discovery, his life's work, and the archaeological treasure he had found. He told us how he even guarded the site at the time to protect the finds from nighttime treasure hunters who came to take a look, armed with spades.

We took a few photos and said goodbye. How incredulous we were when, five days later, we received the news that Hubert had passed away. The last witness to this story. Something we thought we could grasp slipped away. I stared at the email and tried to recall the entire conversation with Hubert in the sand quarry. It also emphasizes how important it is to record all these stories, cherish them, and pass them on to future generations. We therefore dedicate this walk with great gratitude and respect to Hubert De Pessemier and his family. We hope that many people will join him on this walk and share in the story of this unique place.

With ErfgoedApp , you can The Treasure of Beerlegem . Start at the church in Beerlegem.

This walk was created during the project Heritage colors the Flemish Ardennes by the Flemish Ardennes Heritage Cell. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this story: the municipality of Zwalm, Archeosite Velzeke, Heemkundekring Zwalm, and the De Pessemier family.