"Sel" being derived from the word "sale", which refers to the largest house in the area which belonged to the local nobleman in the early medieval period.
[3][4] Source:[5] The hamlets Nijnsel and Vressel on either side of the Dommel river are known to be habituated in prehistoric times.
[8] Nijnsel continued into the twentieth century as a small linear settlement on the old road between Sint-Oedenrode and Lieshout.
Later on the development of the village was further determined by both the construction of the Catholic Church, and by the proximity to the Veghelseweg - Sonseweg (Road to Veghel and to Son).
Nijnsel was notorious for the Provincial Road N265 which for years separated the village from the nearby Sint-Oedenrode.
A map of the excavation of a settlement from the early
Bronze Age
, around 1500 BC Just north of the fen De Hazenputten in the
Vresselse Bossen
in Nijnsel. The main building within the excavated portion is a farm of 17 meters by 6 meters. The outer wall consisted of poles that were connected with braid and were covered with clay. The posts within the farm will have borne the roof. A series of heavy poles on the south side of the farm probably supported a far extended roof on that side that was necessary in view of the down pouring rain that could wash away the clay there. In the long walls of the farmhouse opposite to each other there are two wide entrances forming a corridor which divided the building into a living area and a shed or barn. Around the farm there were numerous outbuildings. The most notable was a circular building that was probably a sheepfold. The other buildings are square or rectangular sheds and called "Spiekers": constructions of four or six poles with a raised floor for the storage of grain and hay. Northwest of the main building was a large barn of 7 by 3.5 meters. The many other posts will have served a variety of small buildings that belong to a farm like racks, an apiary, doghouse etc. The dark spots on the map were pits which were probably used for manure or the storing of winter silage.
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7
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