Thermal Museum

The Thermenmuseum is an archaeological museum in the center of the Dutch Limburg city of Heerlen. The museum opened in 1977 and was built around the excavation of a Roman bathhouse, which is the oldest, largest, and best-preserved ancient building in the Netherlands. In 1940, the foundation of a thermal complex was discovered in the center of Heerlen, the most important structure of the Roman settlement Coriovallum to date. A farmer who was plowing the fallow grassland got his plow stuck in a part of a shaft on June 18 of that year. Later, three more column fragments were found. A few days later, amateur archaeologist Dr. H.J. Beckers, assisted by volunteers, began a large excavation, and by 1941, the impressive archaeological remains for the Netherlands had been uncovered. The site was covered with a layer of silver sand with the intention of excavating it again later. This happened in 1975, after which the excavation was incorporated within the walls of a newly built museum complex. The Thermenmuseum has been open to the public since 1977.

Wikipedia