Project EARTHWORK
The Dutch landscape is rich in a variety of earthworks, including prehistoric Celtic Fields, dwelling mounds, ramparts, dikes, and more. These earthworks have an important archaeological, cultural-historical, and aesthetic value. Earthworks are investigated to obtain essential information for their conservation, management, and possible reuse. Research can determine when they were constructed and what their functions were. These ancient structures are subject to various dynamics, such as climate change, sea level rise, erosion, and urbanization, making it crucial to understand their age and context in order to address these challenges.
The EARTHWORK project focuses on dating different types of earthworks so that we can better understand how and when earlier inhabitants changed the landscape to improve their living conditions. The project leaders of EARTHWORK, Jakob Wallinga and Roy van Beek (Wageningen University and Research), are working with their team and various partners to gain important insights.
'Archeologie telt. Towards future-proof archaeological research.'
EARTHWORK is part of the Dutch Research Agenda thematic programme called 'Archeologie telt'. It supports future directions in Dutch archaeological research and aims to inspire research that uses innovative (and/or conventional) methods and techniques to answer prominent questions in archaeology, and that contribute to the development of a sustainable research infrastructure across the entire knowledge chain. The programme encourages collaboration within the knowledge chain, but also from the knowledge chain with societal stakeholders from public and semi-public sectors and the archaeology industry.
Luminescence dating
A key goal of EARTHWORK is to determine the age of various earthworks. These include, for example, ridges, dikes, dwelling mounds, and ramparts. How did these earthworks develop over time, and when did they fall into disuse? We attempt to answer these questions using luminescence dating of soil samples from test pits.
Sand grains can emit a small light signal. This is called luminescence. This luminescence signal is reset by exposure to (sun)light and builds up over time through exposure to natural radioactivity. In this way, the luminescence signals of sand grains form a clock that records how long ago the grains were last exposed to light.
Hestia
HESTIA is a project related to EARTHWORK and focuses specifically on earthworks believed to have been formed in the Roman period. Using luminescence dating, it is possible to determine the time of construction, thus helping to establish whether the earthworks actually date from the Roman period. Specifically, the project examines a Roman road and several Roman marching camps that have recently been identified, but whose Roman age has not yet been established. The HESTIA project will thus contribute to a broader understanding of Roman archaeology in the Netherlands. This approach will allow for the precise dating of this road, the presumed Roman marching camps, and other sites, answering important questions about the purpose and role of the sites within Roman (military) history in the Netherlands.