The current research would not have been possible without the help of numerous people, whom I wish to thank here. First of all, I must thank my promotors, David Fontijn and Harry Fokkens for inspiring me to pursue my interest in the chieftains’ burials through the current PhD-research and for their tireless and unwavering support. You both have my heartfelt gratitude for the many enjoyable hours we spent debating various ideas, for always challenging and encouraging me and for the constant enthusiasm that helped keep me going.
I also could not have completed this research without the wonderful people from the various museums I visited who were instrumental to the research and I therefore would like to thank, in no particular order: Britt Claes, Benoit, Alexandra de Poorter and Nicolas Cauwe of the Royal Museums of Art and History (Brussels), Ad van Pinxteren of the Noordbrabants Museum (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Wim Dijkman of the Centre Ceramique (Maastricht), Bert Huiskes from Het Rondeel (Rhenen), Jan Bruggink of the Drents Museum (Assen), Louis Swinkels from Het Valkhof (Nijmegen) as well as Joris Brattinga and Luc Amkreutz from the National Museum of Antiquities (Leiden). Luc I must thank both for helping me in his professional capacity as curator, and as my friend. You were always ready with a pep-talk and a cup of coffee or a hug and a beer and I doubt I would have completed my PhD without you. And of course for suiting up as my paranymph! Peter-Jan Bomhof and Robbert-Jan Looman (also of the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden) have my thanks for taking pictures of the finds in their collection. I am also indebted to my darling and wonderful friend Joëlla van Donkersgoed for travelling to various museums with me and taking so many beautiful photographs and being such an allround joy to work with. Pieter ter Keurs of the National Museum of Antiquities (Leiden) I thank for accepting and publishing this work as part of the PALMA series.
I thank all the specialists for working with me and helping me out during the course of this research – your help was invaluable! In no particular order: Erica van Hees (Laboratory for Archaeobotanical Studies, Leiden University) and Caroline Vermeeren (BIAX Consult) examined wooden and charcoal artifacts and fragments. Annelou van Gijn and Annemieke Verbaas (both Laboratory for Artefact studies, Leiden University) performed use-wear analyses. Simone Lemmers (formerly of the Laboratory for Human Osteology and Funerary Archaeology, Leiden University) analyzed cremation remains. Janneke van der Stok-Nienhuis (Cultural Heritage Agency; RCE), Jeffrey Steijger (intern InHolland at RCE) and Dennis Braekmans (Leiden University) performed XRF-analysis to identify unrecognizable metals and residues. Ineke Joosten (RCE) used Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to study the crystal structure of several swords and textile fibers, and together with Deandra de Loof (BA-student Leiden University) performed micro-CT analysis on textiles. Maarten van Bommel (University of Amsterdam) performed dye-stuff analysis on textiles. Karina Grömer (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) I must especially thank not only for conducting extensive analyses of textiles from burials, but also for teaching me the basics of textile analysis and an incredibly fun time doing so. I also thank Guy de Mulder and Eugéne Warmenbol for helping me research
172 fragmenting the chieftain
and obtain literature and drawings of finds from a number of Belgian sites. Thank you all for helping and teaching me so much!
Jo Kempkens and Ton Lupak answered my many questions regarding the restoration of the artifacts from Oss and I must thank them for their help and amazing work. Jo, you taught me so much about how important it is to understand an artifact’s restoration history. You are sorely missed.
I thank Carola Metzner-Nebelsick for hosting my stay in Munich, for sharing her wisdom and insights into the Hallstatt Culture and for her continuous support of my academic endeavors. I furthermore thank, Ken, Miri, Sanny and all the other wonderful people I met there for making my stay there so much fun! A special thank you goes to my ‘portal to Hallstatt knowledge’ and work-husband Robert Schumann, for helping this Lowlander see the light and for suiting up as my paranymph! Organizing our Hallstatt Workshop together was incredibly fun and rewarding, and I thank all my international colleagues who partipated and contributed to making it a huge success, and everyone who contributed to the proceedings (Schumann/ Van der Vaart-Verschoof 2017 in bibliography). Working on that book was hugely inspirational for the current research and I am grateful to everyone who contributed, and especially Robert for all his hard work.
To my faculty colleagues, your help was invaluable and your presence a joy. Again, in no particular order, I thank Patrick Valentijn who served as a critical sounding board and helped keep the research grounded. Quentin Bourgeois has my gratitude for his critical reading of earlier drafts, and for being an all-round academic big brother and providing the occasional shoulder to cry on when I needed it. Arjan Louwen I thank for being my ‘commoner’ counterpart and for his many insights into Early Iron Age burial practice in the Low Countries and always cheerful company. I must also thank my office- mate and fellow Chieftain’s burial of Oss enthusiast Richard Jansen for his help and ever-pleasant company. The Dudes and Dames of Destruction, Maikel Kuijpers, Catalin Popa, Marieke Visser, Leah Powell and Sabrina Autenrieth I thank for all the fun they brought our research group. The same is true for Bastiaan Steffens, Valerio Gentile and Erik Kroon. Last by definitely not least, I thank Lena Lambers for joining us in Leiden and becoming such a good friend to me. You are all rock stars!
This work would look very different without the fantastic paintings created by ‘my’ artists Iz Gelman and Raf Timmermans. I thank Iz for showing me the magic of painting in Photoshop and for the beautiful depictions of horses and wagons. Raf I thank for the stunning sword drawings and paintings of the Chieftain of Oss. You were both such a pleasure to work with!
I must of course also thank my BFF Anniek Manshanden for always being there for me, and for the many cups of tea and peptalks. Without you I would not be me and this book would not exist. Thank you to my parents and siblings (-in law) for the constant support and thank you especially to my mother for your help in editing the manuscript. To my daughter Leena goes my gratitude for her willingness to nap on my lap while I wrote. Last but not least, thank you to my amazing husband Wouter Verschoof-van der Vaart, for your unwavering support, encouragement, help and love. You are my heart.