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oai:oar.onroerenderfgoed.be:VIOR002-001 2007-10-30T03:10:48Z VIOR

Steentijd in de Kempen. Prospectie, kartering en waardering van het laat-paleolithisch en mesolithisch erfgoed Van Gils, Marijn De Bie, Marc The Campine area (‘Kempen’) has for some time past been known for its large quantity of Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites. Archaeological fieldwork of the last few years has revealed that these sites are rich in artefact numbers and sometimes very extensive. Most, however, are severely affected by (sub-)recent human impact on the landscape. In the undisturbed - mostly wooded - areas, by contrast, possible artefact scatters are invisible. Until recently, therefore, these areas were considered unfit for archaeological survey. This article presents a systematic survey of these landscapes with appropriate drilling campaigns, using drills of 20 cm diameter and screens with a 3mm mesh. The goal of the project is to systematically assess the archaeological value of the Campine region in order to select sites for protection. This program should also allow for a better prediction of archaeological potential in infrastructure or land management operations. The project had two phases. The first phase took place in 2001 and consisted of 1) the inventory of known sites (including input into the Central Archaeological Inventory), 2) the re-localisation in the field of a selection of these sites, and 3) a survey for new sites. The latter only took place in areas where good preservation conditions were likely, i.e. places with more or less intact (podsolic) soil profiles, mostly in forests. This approach appeared to be quite successful. In areas selected on the basis of their geomorphologic and topographical characteristics, drilling often delivered artefacts. As such, a series of formerly unknown sites could be detected. They are well-preserved under vegetation covers and mostly situated in specific geographical contexts: on high dry sandy soils next to (former) open water (river or fen), providing new insights into prehistoric land use. During the second phase, an assessment of potentially valuable sites took place. In the summers of 2002 and 2003, five selected site complexes were screened systematically: Ravels-Witgoor, Opglabbeek-Ruiterskuilen/Schaapsven/Turfven, Lommel-Maatheide, Lommel-Molse Nete, and Arendonk-Korhaan. These locations were selected because of their archaeological potential and the variety of management situations, i.e. from acutely threatened sites to locations in normally well-protected nature reserves. On each of these sites, several hectares were systematically sampled in a 5 by 6 meter grid. This approach provided sufficient information without destroying the sites in any way. One of the striking results of the assessment phase is that the sites are in no way restricted to isolated artefact scatters representing single occupations. Rather, they contain chains of scatters over hundreds, if not thousands of meters, generally along open waters. In all, the study provided new knowledge on the location, preservation, wealth, extension, and nature of Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic site complexes in the Campine area, and presents a new approach that can be used for further systematic surveys of prehistoric flint scatters in Flanders in order to better protect this very vulnerable part of the archaeological heritage. VIOE 2006-01-01 text application/pdf https://id.erfgoed.net/infocat/publicaties/202 https://oar.onroerenderfgoed.be/publicaties/VIOR/2/VIOR002-001.pdf Van Gils M. & De Bie M. 2006: Centrale Archeologische Inventaris (CAI) II. Thematisch inventarisatie- en evaluatieonderzoek, VIOE-Rapporten 02, Brussel, 7-16. ISSN:1781 4936 nl-BE Copyright VIOE