Peat People. On the Function and Context of Medieval Artificial Platforms in a Coastal Wetland, Eelder- and Peizermaden, the Netherlands

ABSTRACT Large, artificial habitation platforms are widely distributed along the southern North Sea coasts. In this article, we will focus on the less known, small medieval platforms situated further inland, on the edge of the extensive peat bogs which until medieval times covered much of the lowlands of the Netherlands. We have confronted data from the area Eelder- and Peizermaden with existing models on the dynamics of human colonization and exploitation of North Sea coastal wetlands. The evidence from ‘peat terps’ seems to reflect distinct and successive land-use types or strategies that are associated with at least two colonization phases. Changes in land use are related to environmental changes that are largely human-induced. This is typical for coastal peat landscapes. Land-use patterns display spatio-temporal similarities as well as differences. The observed succession of land-use types and the associated material culture bear a strong resemblance to developments in the Assendelver polder a millennium before.