The first coal mines date from the twelfth century, near Rolduc Abbey, where the origins of the coal mining industry lie.
When the monks ran the mines, they were known as abbey mines. Years later, when the French occupied the country late in the eighteenth century, they were known as ‘Mines Domaniales’. After the French, the mines came under state control and were known as the Domanial Mine.
An interesting discovery at the mines is an object left by one of our earliest inhabitants; this perfect stone celt was found at Nulland pit in the Domanial Mine. It was left there 60,000 years ago by a group of Neanderthals during the Ice Age. They were skilled survivors, as capable as any modern homo sapiens.
NOTE: The location of the spear is near the entrance to the footpath at the roundabout of Domaniale Mijnstraat and Voorterstraat.