Thirteenth-century bell oven dug up in centre of Utrecht

UTRECHT - Archeologists have found a unique, 13th-century oven made of bricks that served to make some of the smaller bronze bells for the Romanesque church in the centre of town. During construction of a new city heating system, parts of the city centre were excavated to a depth of three metres. It was expected that Roman era finds could be unearthed, but none were found. Experts were elated however that this brick oven was brought to the surface, since it is the only more-or-less intact one ever found in the Netherlands. From the 15th century on, such on-site ovens were banned from town centres because of their fire hazards.