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The topic of this book is the Origin of the Dutch coastal landscape during the Holocene. The landscape evolution is vizualized in series of palaeogeographical maps and the driving mechanisms behind the environmental changes are discussed. The practice to make palaeogeographical map reconstructions in the Netherlands developed after the Second World War when a lot of regional geological and soil scientific mapping programs were carried out by government institutions and universities. These maps show when and how the surveyed sediments were formed. The palaeogeographical map reconstructions are subsequently used for the understanding and modelling of the long-term coastal evolution, coastal-management issues, landscape-archaeological purposes and for education and public information reasons.
Geoarchaeological investigations play an important role in this study. Geological and palaeo-environmental data from archaeological excavations (‘key sites’) provided essential information for the palaeolandscape reconstructions. In the presented regional- and local-case studies of this book, examples of these sites are shown.
Reviews
“This splendid book is a PhD thesis, albeit a very unusual one in that the body of work that it contains has developed over Vos’ working life since 1981. This volume reflects a deep understanding of all aspects of the Holocene evolution of the Dutch coast from a natural system to one in which anthropogenic factors are now dominant.” Helen Rendell in The Holocene
Helen Rendell in The Holocene 2016, Vol. 26(4) 665-666
PREFACE VI
1 INTRODUCTION 4
1.1 Palaeogeographical maps 5
1.2 Perception of Holocene coastal evolution 8
1.3 Nomenclature of the Holocene deposits 11
1.4 Subdivision of the landscapes 15
1.5 Archaeology as a tool in the reconstruction of the salt-marsh progradation 21
1.6 Driving mechanisms 23
2 COMPILATION OF THE HOLOCENE PALAEOGEOGRAPHICAL MAPS OF THE NETHERLANDS 50
2.1 Method of reconstruction 50
2.2 Legends on the national palaeogeographical maps 51
2.3 Mapping sources 53
2.4 Reconstruction of the Basal Peat environment based on sea-level data 55
2.5 Reconstruction of the tidal environment 58
2.6 Blank spots 58
2.7 Compilation of the palaeogeographical maps 59
2.8 Discussion: improvements in the map series 68
3 REGIONAL PALAEOGEOGRAPHICAL STUDIES 82
3.1 Flooding history of the Southwestern Netherlands: interaction between natural and anthropogenic processes 82
3.2 Landscape history of the Oer-IJ tidal system, Noord-Holland (The Netherlands) 98
3.3 Holocene landscape reconstruction of the Wadden Sea area between Marsdiep and Weser 202
Explanation of the coastal evolution and visualisation of the landscape development of the Northern Netherlands and Niedersachsen in five palaeogeographical maps from 500 BC to present
4 LOCAL PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDIES 232
4.1 A staged geogenetic approach to underwater archaeological prospection in the Port of Rotterdam (Yangtze Harbour, Maasvlakte, The Netherlands): a geological and palaeoenvironmental case study for local mapping of Mesolithic lowland landscapes 232
4.2 Palaeo-environmental investigations at the archaeological site Vergulde Hand West in Vlaardingen (Port of Rotterdam) 264
4.3 Landscape reconstruction of the Bronze Age site De Druppels found on a salt-marsh ridge of the Westfriese-inlet system; a case study north of Alkmaar (Noord-Holland) 294
5 SYNTHESIS: LONG-TERM LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION OF THE NETHERLANDS AND CONCLUSIONS 320
SAMENVATTING 330
REFERENCES 336
