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Dieren en planten

Water en land

History   Terpen treasures   

Mens en Milieu

The highest terp, Hegebeintum, Friesland, Ecomare

Terpen as archaeological treasure

Presently, Friesland has fewer than 1000 terpen and a large number of them have been totally excavated. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the terpen were dug up for the fertile soil. The highest terp in the Netherlands (seven meters), Hegebeintum, Friesland.

  • Terpen soil

    Terp soil was mostly used to make nutrient-poor sandy soil more fertile. To bring one hectare of sandy ground into cultivation, 120 tons of terp soil was needed. This soil was transported to the sandy area via tjalks, Dutch sailing vessels. The churches and graveyards on the terpen were generally spared, however stories have been told of bones sticking out of the steep edge of the terp. Even though a wealth of archaeological information has been lost, at least 30,000 objects were found during the excavations.
    What was discovered in the terp ground meant that the Frisians had to radically change their ideas of their history. The Frisian land was not inhabited by the same folk for centuries, as was believed. The occupants were constantly changing. The first inhabitants probably came around 2600 years ago and were farmers from higher lying areas, such as Southwest Friesland, Germany and Drenthe. They planned to take up permanent residence in the fertile clay and peat bog region. Roman travel logs tell us that these people were known as the Frisii. Archaeological finds show an intensive trade between these early Frisians and the Romans.

  • De-population and re-population

    After 250, the influence of the Romans in Northwestern Europe decreased. During those days, the densely populated Frisian terp lands became more or less uninhabited. The old population of Friesland practically totally disappeared during those times. This de-population was probably caused by an approaching sea. In the first half of the Middle Ages during the many migrations, the terpen were inhabited by Angles, Chauci, Saxons and Jutes (all Germanic people). Despite the many waves of immigration, the inhabitants of the terpen landscape always called themselves Frisians. The Angles had a strong influence on the development of the Frisian language, as can be seen in the close resemblance between old Frisian and old English.
    Because the sea level rose around one millimeter per year in those days, the people had to raise the level of the terpen. They accomplished the task most often by using sod, dung and garbage.
    Cattle breeders and trade brought the early Middle Age Frisians wealth and power. Halfway through the 7th century, the Frisian kingdom stretched out from the Schelde to the Weser. However, the territory declined quickly due to conquests by the Franks, invasions by the Vikings and finally, a violent assumption of power by the church.
    Around 1000 A.D., the Frisians started building dikes on a large scale, often under direction of the monks. This made living on high terpen redundant.