Tijdschrift voor Historische Geografie - Volume 6, Issue 3, 2021

Iron Age Celtic fields and medieval common woodlands: some considerations on their topological relationship and chronological transition

Until recently, Celtic fields could only be distinguished on aerial photographs, especially in open landscapes like arable fields and heathlands. With the emergence of lidar data, however, a new set of these late prehistoric fields have been discovered in afforested areas. A closer examination of the about two hundred known Celtic fields in The Netherlands revealed that about 50-60 percent of them are situated in former common woodlands dating from the later Middle Ages. Apparently, there is a causal connection between the two. After the abandonment of the Celtic fields in the Early Roman period woodland regeneration on these nutrient rich soils was probably more prominent than on the surrounding podzolised soils. Archeological excavations and modern-day field research reveal that there could have been possible interphase of early and high medieval coppice woods on former Celtic fields, which were used for large-scale charcoal production supplying local and regional iron industries. This would diachronically and topographically connect three main narratives of Dutch sandy landscapes i.e. late prehistoric working landscapes, early and high medieval iron production and late medieval and early modern common woodlands.

A lyrical landscape. Walcheren as the ‘garden of Zeeland’

From the 17th century until the 1944 war inundation, the island of Walcheren was lyrically described and praised, most famously as the ‘garden of Zeeland’. Earlier, such laudations were given to the island of Noord-Beveland and during the 19th and early 20th century to (a part of) Zuid-Beveland as well. The small-scale and enclosed countryside of Walcheren, with its many and characteristic country estates, was eulogised not only by writers and poets, but also by geographers and historians. Partially due to improved transportation since the late 19th century, Walcheren has attracted an ever-growing number of visitors. Accordingly, more than any of the other Zeeland islands, its alluring landscape was repeatedly celebrated. After the 1944 war inundation the Walcheren landscape was completely reconstructed, but an assessment of this lies beyond the scope of this article.

The Office for Reconstruction of Farmhouses on the Island of Texel

The polder Eierland on the West-Frisian island of Texel was reclaimed 1835-1836. The landscape with its characteristic farms was heavily damaged in the last months of the Second World War by an uprising of Georgians and the German reaction. This article discusses the heritage of the post-war Dutch Office for Reconstruction of Farmhouses on the island, especially in the polder Eierland.

The Mauritsline on the IJssel border. A cultural-historical structure in the present landscape

At the end of the 16th century the Dutch Republic formed its outer borders alongside the major rivers. Prince Maurits instigated the build of 26 defensive structures (schansen, redoubts) on the IJssel border. Due to a lack of documentation, little is known of the location and the remains of these structures. This article is a first step to start to locate these former border posts. A list with a description of the locations was the starting point. Old maps, aerial photos and landscape biotopes were used to locate the redoubts. After the location of the structures this article proposes to develop a cultural-historical experience of the former ‘Maurits IJssellinie’, which can be done in several ways. It is an important story in the history of the beginning of the Dutch Republic.

The Trekvliet canal and the pall-mall at Leiden

Pall-mall was a popular lawn game in the 17th century. The oldest pall-mall in the Netherlands was built in The Hague in 1606. Leiden was one of the universities with such a facility. In 1581, Leiden University already had several courts for ball sports. Some manuscript maps show their locations outside the city walls. The building of a pall-mall in Leiden coincided with the digging of the canal for horse-drawn boats to The Hague and Delft. The first plans for a boat canal probably date from around 1633 and the canal was completed in 1637. Alongside, between the boat canal and the Leiden city walls, a pall-mall was built, about 700 meters in length. The university bought some plots of land from the Leiden orphanage, on which the lawn was built. The history of the building of the boat canal and pall-mall is documented in several property maps and town plans that have survived. In the university’s archive, a concept of regulations of the Leiden pall-mall is kept, which gives insight in how the game had to be played and into the rules that the students had to adhere to. The pall-mall remained in use until at least the end of the 18th century. On the cadastral plan from the early 19th century (1811-1832) the strip of land is still owned by the university but indicated as ‘economic garden’ and the heyday of pall-mall was over.