4 October 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Citizen scientists discover more than 1,000 new burial mounds in a Dutch archaeological project

A Dutch archaeological project in which thousands of amateur sleuths combed specialized maps and high resolution photographs resulted in the discovery of 1200 additional potential bronze age burial mounds in the Utrecht and Veluwe region.

In addition, the citizen science project run by the University of Leiden and regional cultural heritage organizations has helped to identify nearly 38 square kilometers of prehistoric agricultural fields and 900 potential charcoal production sites.

Heritage Quest, a fruitful collaboration between Leiden University and Gelderland Heritage is the first large-scale citizen-science project in Dutch archaeology. People could search for archaeological remains in the Veluwe and Utrechtse Heuvelrug areas from their homes.

In total, over 6,500 people worked on the project and identified thousands of potential archaeological objects, such as burial mounds (c. 2,800-500 BC), Celtic fields (prehistoric field complexes dating from 1,100 to 200 BC), charcoal kilns (places where wood was burned to make charcoal) and cart tracks.

“This research wouldn’t have been possible without the tremendous efforts of the volunteers. And without their help the help of the citizen scientists, it may have taken us archaeologists ten years to arrive at the same results,” says Eva Kaptijn, an archaeologist from Gelderland Heritage.

One of the photos, showing potential burial mounds. İmage: Leiden University
One of the photos, showing potential burial mounds. İmage: Leiden University

The team project started in April 2020 and the findings are shedding new light on the history of the Netherlands in drier parts of the country, said Kaptijn. ‘The Veluwe and Utrechtse Heuvelrug are now nature reserves where you walk through the heather fields and woods, but in the in the Iron Age, 1,000 BC, it was one enormous agricultural area. So you look at the landscape in a completely different way.’

Once the online detective work had been completed, volunteers, archaeologists and archaeology students from Leiden University went out into the field to verify a sample of the remains that had been found. Fieldwork was then carried out at 300 of the potential grave sites, and 80 were found to be the real thing.

‘We can now calculate that if seven different volunteers have identified the same spot as a possible burial mound then it is very likely to be so,’ she said. ‘If we look at the rest of the area, then we can say there are potentially 949 new burials mounds and that would be double the figure we are currently aware of.’

“Having so many volunteers participate has produced an unprecedented amount of new data and radically changed our view of prehistory. The Veluwe and Utrechtse Heuvelrug prove to have been much more intensively inhabited than we thought,” says Quentin Bourgeois, an assistant professor at Leiden University.

The remains discovered have not only produced new academic knowledge but also made it easier to protect this unique heritage. Municipalities and park managers can use the data in their policy and management plans. In addition, involving the general public in this research has increased people’s awareness of the presence and value of their archaeological heritage.

Leiden University

Banner
Related Post

A rare 2,500-year-old marble disc, designed to protect ancient ships and ward off the evil eye discovered near Palmachim Beach

5 August 2023

5 August 2023

A rare 2,500-year-old marble disc designed to protect ancient ships and ward off the evil eye was discovered by a...

Gold coin hoard discovered in a cup beneath a North Yorkshire kitchen floor is being auctioned off

7 September 2022

7 September 2022

A couple in North Yorkshire found an early 18th-century gold coin hoard buried under the floorboards of their kitchen. The...

New Discoveries on the İsland of Skokholm

29 March 2021

29 March 2021

New discoveries dating back 9000 years have been found in Skokholm, located in the Celtic Sea two miles off the...

A 2,000-year-old Roman sewage system has been discovered in western Turkey

19 September 2021

19 September 2021

The archaeological excavations carried out in the ancient city of Tripolis in the western province of Denizli’s Buldan district have...

Excavation of Carlisle Roman bathhouse uncovers a connection between the site and a third-century Roman emperor

27 September 2021

27 September 2021

Excavation of a Roman bath at the Carlisle Cricket Club in Stanwix, part of the Uncovering Roman Carlisle project, has...

Israeli researchers have found evidence of cooking fish 780,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov

14 November 2022

14 November 2022

Hominins living at Gesher Benot Ya’akov 780,000 years ago liked their fish to be well cooked, Israeli researchers revealed Monday,...

An archaeological dig at Govan Old Churchyard revealed a remarkable new find: an early medieval ‘Govan Warrior’ stone

19 September 2023

19 September 2023

An archaeological excavation in the churchyard at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, a port city on the River Clyde...

The Oldest Known Map of Europe, “Saint-Bélec Slab”

6 April 2021

6 April 2021

An ornate Bronze Age stone slab (Saint-Bélec slab) that was excavated in France in 1900 and forgotten about for over...

New ancient ape from Türkiye challenges the story of human origins

2 September 2023

2 September 2023

A recently discovered fossilized ape from a site in Turkey that is 8.7 million years old is inspiring scientists to...

Remnants of ancient fire temple discovered in heart of Alborz mountains in Iran

26 June 2021

26 June 2021

An Iranian archaeology team has discovered relics of an ancient fire temple in Savadkuh county, located in the center of...

Theater of Perinthos Ancient City to be unearthed

9 August 2021

9 August 2021

The theater area in the Ancient City of Perinthos, whose history dates back to 600 BC, will be unearthed during...

Drone photos reveal Venice of the Fertile Crescent

16 October 2022

16 October 2022

A drone survey of Lagash, a site located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, revealed that the 4,900-year-old settlement was...

Researchers find evidence of the destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of Roman soldiers

29 July 2023

29 July 2023

Israeli researchers find evidence of the destruction of the Second Temple at the hands of Roman soldiers. The discovery of...

A pre-Hispanic ceremonial center with unknown characteristics was discovered in the Andes

15 April 2023

15 April 2023

While investigating at Waskiri, near the Lauca River and the Bolivian-Chilean border, archaeologists found an impressive circular construction on a...

The Ancient City of Yijin Among the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in China

3 February 2021

3 February 2021

Located in Hangzhou’s Lin’an District, Yijin Ancient City among the top 10 archaeological discoveries in China in 2020. Yijin Ancient...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *