During the construction of Amsterdam's 2018-opened Noord/Zuidlijn (North–South metro line), more than 134,000 archaeological finds were unearthed from beneath the streets and waterways. Now 9500 of them dating as far back as 2400 BC are stunningly displayed in glass cases between Rokin metro station's escalators (visitors need a valid public transport ticket). Transport, craft and industry, buildings and interiors feature at the southern entrance. Objects at the northern entrance span science, communications, weapons, armour, recreation, personal items and clothing.
Collection highlights include coins (from as early as 1371), ice-skating blades from the Middle Ages, 15th-century padlocks, 17th-century pottery, an 18th-century piggy bank, 19th-century pocket watches and military uniform buttons, a 1922 car radiator cap, 1935 toy car replica of the Bluebird that broke the world land-speed record the same year, and 1980s mobile phones.