The Low Countries around the deltas of the river Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt have a long tradition in large scale archaeological research. This book brings together research from thirteen of the largest Bronze Age settlements described by their original excavators. These contributions are preceded by two introductory chapters written by the editors, providing a full overview of the state of Dutch Bronze Age settlement research, the key sites and the explanatory models current within it. Standards have been developed for the analysis of Bronze Age house plans and settlement sites and new models for the reading of the settled landscape. The rich data of the Low Countries also incorporate burial areas and deposition places. The findings presented can be seen to reflect the situation over a large area of lands bordering the North Sea.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1 Towards new models
  • Introduction
  • Earlier syntheses
  • New themes in settlement research
  • Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
• 2 Bronze Age settlements in the Low Countries: an overview
  • Introduction
  • Dating the Bronze Age
  • The Low Countries during the Bronze Age
  • Introduction to the Bronze Age occupation of the physical geographical regions of the Low Countries
  • Bronze Age settlement sites in the Low Countries: an overview
  • Characteristics of Bronze Age houses in the Low Countries
  • The Bronze Age farmstead
  • The Bronze Age settlement sites
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
• 3 Houses and barrows in the Low Countries
  • Introduction
  • Modelling barrow-house relations
  • Was a Middle Bronze Age barrow the burial site of a household?
  • Was a barrow situated close to a house?
  • Are barrows contemporary to houses?
  • What did determine the location of Middle Bronze Age barrows then?
  • Conclusion
  • Appendix: A revision of the chronology of the De Bogen barrow
  • Notes
  • References
• 4 Bronze Age settlements in Drenthe
  • Introduction
  • The evolution of the farmhouse
  • The farmstead
  • Angelslo and Emmerhout
  • Borger
  • To conclude…
  • References
• 5 Bronze Age occupation on coversand ridges of the Looërenk near Zutphen
  • Introduction
  • Habitation
  • The development of the Looërenk settlement
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• 6 The Middle Bronze Age farmstead from Rhede (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
  • Introduction
  • Middle Bronze Age buildings
  • Pottery
  • Bronze blades
  • Archaeobotanical analysis
  • Bones
  • Radiocarbon analyses
  • Synthesis & discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
• 7 Rhenen-Remmerden revisited: some comments regarding site structure and the visibility of Bronze Age house plans
  • Introduction
  • Geographical background
  • Archaeological data
  • Buildings
  • Pits (Fig. 7.5)
  • Concentrations of pits
  • Dating of the site
  • An interpretation of the Bronze Age occupation of Rhenen–Remmerden
  • Rituals, structured deposition or garbage?
  • Final remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
• 8 Living at Eigenblok. A Bronze Age settlement in the Dutch river area
  • Introduction
  • Eigenblok-West (site 5)
  • Eigenblok-Oost (site 6)
  • Eigenblok (sites 1–4)
  • Site 1
  • Occupation period of all sites
  • Land use
  • Settlement pattern
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
• 9 The Bronze Age cultural landscape at Zijderveld
  • Introduction
  • Geological setting and chronology
  • The 2004 excavations
  • The Bronze Age houses
  • The farmyards
  • Dating of the house sites
  • Material remains
  • The pastures and fields
  • The size of the settlement site
  • Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
• 10 Bronze age settlements in Tiel-Medel
  • Introduction
  • Landscape
  • Settlement sites
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• 11 The Bronze Age cultural landscape of De Bogen
  • Introduction
  • The prehistoric landscape
  • Archaeological remains
  • Concluding remarks on the settlement through the ages
  • Acknowledgements
  • Appendix: The barrow of De Bogen
  • References
• 12 Marking while taking land into use: some indications for long-term traditions within the Oer-IJ estuarine region
  • Introduction
  • Velserbroek: initial users and their traces
  • Excavations and earliest traces along the trackway
  • The Broekpolder
  • The Assendelver polder and Uitgeesterbroek polder
  • Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
• 13 The Early Bronze Age farmstead of Noordwijk
  • Introduction
  • The excavation
  • The house plan from Noordwijk
  • Dating of the settlement structures
  • Other Early Bronze Age house plans in the Netherlands
  • Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
• 14 Bronze Age neighbours: occupation of three parallel coversand ridges near Breda
  • Introduction
  • Location of the sites within the wider landscape
  • Occupation evidence
  • The settlement system
  • Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
• 15 The living and the dead: a Bronze Age barrow and farmyard from Weelde
  • Introduction
  • Topographical and geological situation
  • The Middle Bronze Age farmyard on the location Melkerijstraat
  • The Middle Bronze Age graves on the location Schootseweg
  • Organisation of the settlement
  • Notes
  • References
• List of contributors