Category: Publicatie

Archaeometallurgical Research into the Ironworking Activities of the Medieval Harbour at Hoeke (Belgium)

Biernacka, Paulina, Wim De Clercq, Stijn Dewaele, Frank Vanhaecke, and Johan De Grave. 2023. “Archaeometallurgical Research into the Ironworking Activities of the Medieval Harbour at Hoeke (Belgium).” SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH 9 (1). Open Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/20548923.2023.2257067.

ABSTRACT:

Archaeological research at Hoeke, a Late Medieval outer harbour of Bruges (Belgium), has revealed large quantities of iron slags, fuel and other remains of iron working. Archaeometrical study has provided an enhanced insight into the historic iron working process, a craft activity which had up till now remained completely unknown in one of the largest economic hubs of medieval Europe. Several petrological, mineralogical and geochemical analytical methods have been applied for this purpose. The metallographic analysis was performed using reflected light optical microscopy, while the mineralogical composition of the slags was characterized X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Spectrometry. Macroscopic identification of plano-convex bottom slag and hammerscales, combined with the geochemical data pointed out that the examined slag is indicating smithing activity, while no traces for iron ore melting were discovered.

Toll Collection and Economic Development in Twelfth-Century Flanders

Bonduel, Elisa. 2024. “Toll Collection and Economic Development in Twelfth-Century Flanders.” TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR SOCIALE EN ECONOMISCHE GESCHIEDENIS 21 (2).

ABSTRACT:

The twelfth century is generally considered as a period of economic growth and trade intensification in Europe. This commercial development was characterised by a revival of long-distance trade, a growth of trade volumes and a diversification of commodities. However, due to the source bias, many historians have attributed a rather peripheral role to Northwestern Europe in this narrative. Notably, the exact chronology and character of this commercial development in a fast developing region like coastal Flanders has long been disregarded by historians. By deploying sources on toll collection, more specifically toll exemptions and tariffs, the present paper aims to expand our understanding of this process taking into account the relationship between economic change and the development of administrative practices.

The Roman to Medieval Landscape Transformation at Aardenburg (Southern The Netherlands) Based on Palynology and Diatom Analysis

André, Coralie, Dante de Ruijsscher, Wim De Clercq, Frieda Bogemans, Bart Van De Vijver, Annelies Storme, and Stephen Louwye. 2023. “The Roman to Medieval Landscape Transformation at Aardenburg (Southern The Netherlands) Based on Palynology and Diatom Analysis.” BOREAS. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12640.

ABSTRACT:

The region of Bruges (Flanders, Belgium) was an economic and cultural centre during the Late Middle Ages because it was connected to the North Sea via a large tidal inlet called the Zwin, along which smaller towns developed. One of these towns was Aardenburg (Zeeland, The Netherlands), which developed from a Roman castellum to become one of the important medieval towns in the hinterland of Bruges. Unfortunately, archaeological, historical and (palaeo)environmental data about the Roman to medieval evolution of the Zwin area are scarce. However, the continuous occupation of Aardenburg during the first millennium AD and its location on a Pleistocene sand ridge bordering the coastal plain provide a unique opportunity to investigate the natural dynamics of the coastal evolution and the interplay with the human impact that shaped the Zwin region before its heyday. The variable character of the depositional environments on the dynamic coastal plain makes local environmental studies essential for understanding larger patterns, which were previously reduced to a simplistic outdated model over the entire region. Palynological and diatom assemblages of two sequences in Aardenburg allow the reconstruction of the terrestrial and aquatic palaeoenvironments from the Middle Holocene to the high Middle Ages. The results reveal landscape evolution in relation to woodlands, peat bogs, coastal environments and human presence, consistent with previous regional landscape evolution. A distinct increase in marine influence during the Roman and early medieval periods, when human activities played a significant role, was followed by an increase in inland indicators from the high medieval period onwards. This evolution is in accordance with the expansion of the town and the reclamation of the coastal landscape as it evolved to become a cultural centre in the Late Middle Ages.

Early Modern Pewter from the Castle of Middelburg-in-Flanders (Belgium): Uses, Material Composition and Ranges of Quality

Saussus, Lise, Maxime Poulain, and Wim De Clercq. 2023. “Early Modern Pewter from the Castle of Middelburg-in-Flanders (Belgium): Uses, Material Composition and Ranges of Quality.” Post-Medieval Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.1080/00794236.2023.2285286.

ABSTRACT:

An exceptional archaeological assemblage of pewter was found during excavations at the castle of Middelburg (Belgium). This article gives an overview of the forms and marks that are represented and discusses the chronology and spatial distribution of these tin-alloyed finds. As such, it becomes possible to delineate certain functional zones at the castle, and get a glimpse of the lives of some individuals who have lived at the castle, from a Catholic priest to Burgundian and Habsburgian nobles. This pewter set is subsequently analysed by PIXE to determine its elemental composition. Besides some methodological considerations for the future elemental analysis of pewter, these investigations illustrate the existence of various qualities of pewter. These different tin-based alloys are discussed with respect to market expectations and the various constraints that pewterers faced in elaborating these alloys.

Two Odd Ones Out: Mediterranean Ballast Stones and Italian Maritime Connections in the Medieval Bruges’ Harbor System

De Clercq, W., Taelman, D., Antonelli, F. et al. Two Odd Ones Out: Mediterranean Ballast Stones and Italian Maritime Connections in the Medieval Bruges’ Harbor System. J Mari Arch (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-022-09344-1

Abstract:

Excavations in the Bruges’ Medieval outer ports of Hoeke and Monnikerede, located along the Zwin tidal inlet, revealed numerous rounded cobbles of exotic geological provenance among which were two specimens of remarkable mineralogical composition. An interdisciplinary study combining archeological, geological, petrographic-geochemical, and historical research has demonstrated their Mediterranean, i.e., Italian, provenance. A first stone is identified as Carrara marble originating from the alluvial fans of the Apuan Alps, deposited along the Versilian coast near the Renaissance towns of Lucca, Pisa, and Genoa. The second cobble is determined as a bioclastic calcarenite limestone from the Apulian shores. Both finds are interpreted as part of the non-saleable ballast once put in the holds of Italian carracks and galleys that touched the Flemish ports during the late thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. As such, both seemingly ordinary objects constitute a rare material and lithological testimony of an important late Medieval commercial network between the Mediterranean and North Sea coasts. Furthermore, the very rare occurrence of these Mediterranean cobbles compared to thousands of Scando-Baltic and Anglo-Scottish ballast stones in the whole of the Bruges outer harbor area can be related to differences in maritime traffic frequency and sheer commercial volumes. Also, the nature of the ballast itself and the ballasting procedures are important, the whole making Mediterranean ballast stones considerably less detectable in the Bruges’ harbors than their North-European equivalents.

Een archeologische evaluatie waardering en ruimtelijke afbakening van de verdwenen Zwinhavens Hoeke en Monnikerede (gemeente Damme, provincie West-Vlaanderen)

Wim De Clercq, Jan Trachet, Maxime Poulain & Dante de Ruijsscher (2020). Een archeologische evaluatie waardering en ruimtelijke afbakening van de verdwenen Zwinhavens Hoeke en Monnikerede (gemeente Damme, provincie West-Vlaanderen), Rapporten evaluatie- en waarderingsonderzoeken archeologie 43.

Rapport opgesteld voor het Agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed in kader van het beschermingsdossier, online te lezen via: https://oar.onroerenderfgoed.be/publicaties/STUA/43/STUA043-001.pdf