Eight-day research campaign provides new insights into the settlement history of the North Frisian Wadden Sea
12 June 2024
JOINT PRESS RELEASE OF THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL OFFICE, THE LEIBNIZ CENTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGY IN SCHLESWIG, KIEL UNIVERSITY, AND JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITY MAINZ
The North Frisian Wadden Sea is a fascinating natural area with a diverse flora and fauna. It is also a historical area of settlement where researchers can now investigate how people lived and farmed in earlier times in the face of the threat posed by the sea. An interdisciplinary team from the Institute of Geosciences at Kiel University (CAU), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at Kiel University, the Leibniz Center for Archaeology in Schleswig (LEIZA-ZBSA), and the Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office (ALSH) has recently discovered traces of 19 previously unknown medieval mounds, so-called terps, during an eight-day research campaign in the Wadden Sea off of Nordstrand using geophysical measurements. "This has significantly increased the number of known medieval dwellings in this area. We were able to close a crucial gap in our knowledge of the settlement structure at that time," said geophysicist Sarah Bäumler from Kiel University.
Storm surges destroyed the Edomsharde more than 650 years ago
The tidal flats west of the Nordstrand peninsula, where the team was working, are associated with the historical administrative district of Edomsharde, which was destroyed in the storm surge of 1362. The town of Rungholt, which was later mythologized, is also said to have been part of this 'harde'. It was only last year that the team was able to identify the ground plan of a 40-meter-long and 15-meter-wide church located there using geophysical methods, drilling, and excavations. "The dimensions correspond to those of other large churches in North Friesland," explained Dr. Bente Sven Majchczack, archaeologist of the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence. "So we can assume that it was a main church of Edomsharde."
As part of this year's campaign, the team carried out seven excavations measuring one meter by one meter at key points on the church floor plan to verify last year's measurements and to obtain further information about the construction of the church foundation.
Boreholes in the working area also provide new insights into the development of the landscape over thousands of years and thus convey an idea of its appearance in the Middle Ages. "In this way, we can, among other things, make statements about the changes that people caused here. For example, there is evidence that the land was lowered as a result of peat cutting, making it easier for storm surges to reach the area," said geographer Dr. Hanna Hadler from Mainz University.
Crucial knowledge gap about medieval settlements closed
Back in 2017, some of the current team members were able to identify a dyke, a harbor, and several terps in a more southerly area. "The newly discovered terp traces close the gap between the harbor area and the church area. What we had already suspected is therefore true: today's tidal flats were densely populated back then," stated Dr. Ruth Blankenfeldt from LEIZA-ZBSA. This is also supported by a number of individual finds of shaped bricks, metal objects, and medieval pottery that the researchers and volunteers were able to secure and document in the mudflats during the campaign.
Research in the North Frisian Wadden Sea
Nevertheless, the North Frisian Wadden Sea and the former settlements there still hold many secrets. Research in this special natural area is time-consuming and demanding. The researchers have to walk over mud and silt for around one and a half hours every day to reach their working area, taking all their equipment with them. This leaves only a few hours of working time around low tide, which is used intensively.
"Accordingly, we can only manage a limited workload during each campaign and many questions about the former settlement structures remain unanswered," emphasized geophysicist Dr. Dennis Wilken from Kiel University.
Joint project funded by the German Research Foundation
Involved in this research as part of the project "RUNGHOLT – Combined geophysical, geoarchaeological, and archaeological investigations in the North Frisian Wadden Sea in the vicinity of the medieval trading post of Rungholt", which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), are Dr. Hanna Hadler and Professor Andreas Vött from the Natural Risk Research and Geoarchaeology group at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Dr. Dennis Wilken from the Applied Geophysics group at Kiel University, Dr. Ruth Blankenfeldt from LEIZA-ZBSA in Schleswig as well as Dr. Stefanie Klooß and Dr. Ulf Ickerodt from the Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office (ALSH). Dr. Bente Sven Majchczack and Professor Wolfgang Rabbel are involved in the cooperation as part of the project "Socio-environmental Interactions on the North Frisian Wadden Sea Coast" of the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at Kiel University.