Ghoulish Steps

Recent renovations of a 17th-century building in the Dutch city of Alkmaar unveiled a macabre, yet fascinating relic: A centuries-old tiled floor partially filled with bones.

They were cow bones, according to archeologists inspecting the site, and not just any old cow bones but meticulously cut metacarpal and metatarsal bones – leg bones in cows.

“We were very happy to have the chance to see this bone floor with our own eyes,” Alkmaar archeologist Nancy de Jong said per LiveScience, who was part of the team analyzing the floor. “It is always a privilege to uncover something from a long-gone era and add new information to the history of Alkmaar.”

De Jong and her colleagues explained that such bone flooring is rare and only a handful of examples have been found in Dutch port towns, such as Hoorn and Edam.

This type of flooring dates as far back as the 15th century, but the new find has left researchers scratching their heads about its purpose and origins.

The house in Alkmaar wasn’t built until 1609, raising the possibility that the bones were part of an older foundation beneath the existing structure, Newsweek noted.

The reason for using bones is another mystery. Tiles were not particularly expensive at the time, so the choice to fill gaps with cow bones might have served a specific purpose related to the building’s use.

Researchers suggested that the remains could have been a cheap and practical way to fill the gaps.

Alkmaar is home to the Dutch Cheese Museum and is famous for its cheesemaking history – dating back to 1365. Further investigations are planned to determine the extent of the bone floor and whether additional sections lie hidden beneath the structure.

“Discovering this floor is incredibly interesting,” Alkmaar councilor for heritage, Anjo van de Ven, said in the statement. “There are still so many hidden stories waiting for our team of archeologists to come and find them.”