Excavations between 2005 and 2012 found evidence that the origins of Amsterdam are much older than 'only' the twelfth century. During the construction of the Metro "Noord-Zuid lijn" archaeologists discovered, some 30 meters below street level, pole-axes, a stone hammer, and some pottery, all dating from the Neolithic era (New Stone Age). This would mean Amsterdam, or its predecessor would have seen human habitation since about 2600 BCE.http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/4/AMSTERDAM/article/detail/3107442/2012/01/05/Amsterdam-mogelijk-2000-jaar-ouder-dan-gedacht.dhtml Het Parool, 05-01-2012http://www.onsamsterdam.nl/component/content/article/32-tijdschrift/tijdschrift-jaargang-2012/1237-nummer-1-januari-2012?showall=&start=5 Ons Amsterdam, no 1, 2012
