Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill? A Low-Cost and Time-Efficient Molehill Survey of the Lost Medieval Harbor Site of Monnikerede, Belgium. (2nd November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Trachet, Jan; Poulain, Maxime; Delefortrie, Samuël; Van Meirvenne, Marc; De Clercq, Wim
• Is Part Of: Journal of field archaeology. Volume 42:Number 6(2017)
• Page Start: 503
• Page End: 513
• Publication Date: 2017-11-02
• Subjects: Talpa europaea L -- archaeological prospection -- bioturbation -- electromagnetic induction -- unmanned aerial vehicle survey; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- Methodology -- Periodicals; 930.105
• DOI: 10.1080/00934690.2017.1383106
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0093-4690

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Grasslands pose a particular problem for archaeological survey involving artifact assessment, as no material is plowed up to the surface. Although finds in molehills are often the only source of information available on sites with such low visibility, an archaeology of molehills has thus far been largely disregarded. Yet, by applying a low-cost and time-efficient methodology, both the potential and the pitfalls of molehill archaeology come to the forefront. At the medieval harbor site of Monnikerede, it was possible to assess material culture and to locate certain structural elements. However, when artifact densities were compared with the underlying geophysical anomalies, a more complex relationship appeared at the level of individual features.