The brown gold: a reappraisal of medieval peat marshes in Northern Flanders (Belgium)

Jongepier, Iason; Soens, Tim; Thoen, Erik; Eetvelde, Veerle Van; Crombé, Philippe; Bats, Machteld

doi:10.1007/s12685-011-0037-4

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…While the main purpose of land cultivation was to create space for settlements and agriculture, peat was used for energy purposes. Although peat did not become the main national energy source until the 17th century [64][65][66], it was already used as fuel in the Western Netherlands during the Middle Ages. Peat extraction, in other words, was the dominant driver of landscape transformation in the study area during the second energy period.…”

Section: The Second Energy Period: Peat Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Energy Landscapes: A Regional Case Study in the Western Netherlands

Jong

Stremke

2020

Sustainability

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While the transition to renewable energy becomes a main driver of landscape change, few publications discuss the historical transformation of landscapes for the development of energy—commonly referred to as energy landscape. The research reported in this paper investigates the evolution of energy landscapes in the Western Netherlands—a region shaped by peat extraction and dotted with windmills. Five periods have been identified, dominated by wood, peat, wind, fossil fuels, and modern renewables, respectively. During each period, the landscape coevolved with the new energy source hosting new energy infrastructure. The sequence of landscape transformations over the past 10 centuries in the Western Netherlands is illustrated by means of historical paintings, photographs and a series of five georeferenced maps. Our systematic analysis confirms the long-lasting and manifold interrelations between energy development and landscape transformation at the brink of another energy transition. This paper presents the first all-encompassing application of the analytical framework for the study of energy landscapes proposed earlier. The three main qualifications—substantive, spatial, and temporal—provided a clear framework for the systematic study of landscape transformations at the regional scale.

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Section: The Second Energy Period: Peat Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Energy Landscapes: A Regional Case Study in the Western Netherlands

Jong

Stremke

2020

Sustainability

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“…While local peasants were the first to engage in drainage and embankment activities in the region, from the twelfth century onwards they were joined by numerous abbeys and the Count of Flanders himself, along with wealthy citizens from the towns of Bruges and Ghent, all of whom had particular interests in the reclamation of the peat. 31 Within the dike, common land ceased to exist. However, the large stretches of un-embanked estuarine lands and undrained peat lands were considered as a type of common, claimed by both village communities in their vicinity, and, with increasing success, by the Count of Flanders.…”

Section: D I V E R G I N G R E G I O N a L H I S T O R I E S D I mentioning

confidence: 99%

Consuming maps and producing space. Explaining regional variations in the reception and agency of mapmaking in the Low Countries during the medieval and early modern periods

2014

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“…For much of the Holocene the region was geomorphologically quite stable. However, due to the impact of humans this situation changed beginning in the Subatlantic with local sand drifting in the Roman Period (Verbruggen, ) and peat cutting in Medieval times (Jongepier et al, ).…”

Section: Study Area and Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing Phreatic Palaeogroundwater Levels in a Geoarchaeological Context: A Case Study in Flanders, Belgium

et al. 2013

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The complex debate on prehistoric settlement decisions is no longer tackled from a purely archaeological perspective but from a more landscape‐oriented manner combined with archaeological evidence. Therefore, reconstruction of several components of the former landscape is needed. Here, we focus on the reconstruction of the groundwater table based on modeling. The depth of the phreatic aquifer influences, for example, soil formation processes and vegetation type. Furthermore, it directly influences settlement by the wetness of a site. Palaeogroundwater modeling of the phreatic aquifer was carried out to produce a series of full‐coverage maps of the mean water table depth between 12.7 ka and the middle of the 20th century (1953) in Flanders, Belgium. The research focuses on the reconstruction of the input data and boundary conditions of the model and the model calibration. The model was calibrated for the 1924–1953 time period using drainage class maps. Archaeological site data and podzol occurrence data act as proxies for local drainage conditions over periods in the past. They also served as a control on the simulated phreatic palaeogroundwater levels. Model quality testing on an independent validation data set showed that the model predicts phreatic water table levels at the time of soil mapping well (mean error of 1.8 cm; root mean square error of 65.6 cm). Simulated hydrological conditions were in agreement with the occurrence of archaeological sites of Mesolithic to Roman age at 96% of the validation locations, and also with the occurrence of well‐drained podzols at 97% of the validation locations.

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The brown gold: a reappraisal of medieval peat marshes in Northern Flanders (Belgium)

Abstract: Nowadays it is hard to imagine that peat might have played an important role in the history of Analyzing the construction of evidence in the different disciplines concerned, this paper will try to revitalise the debate, by shifting the focus from an analysis on the "macro-level" of the

Cited by 20 publications

References 14 publications

Evolution of Energy Landscapes: A Regional Case Study in the Western Netherlands

Evolution of Energy Landscapes: A Regional Case Study in the Western Netherlands

Consuming maps and producing space. Explaining regional variations in the reception and agency of mapmaking in the Low Countries during the medieval and early modern periods

Reconstructing Phreatic Palaeogroundwater Levels in a Geoarchaeological Context: A Case Study in Flanders, Belgium

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