Project Details
Projekt
SP1: Medieval Frisian settlers in a dynamic coastal landscape
Applicants
Dr. Ruth Blankenfeldt; Dr. Ulf Ickerodt; Dr. Bente Sven Majchczack; Professor Dr. Dieter Quast
Subject Area
Prehistory and World Archaeology
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541064351
Within the RU 5837 (TORF), sub-project SP1 Archaeology focuses on the physical remains of past human occupation in form of archaeological objects, settlement features and stratigraphy in the North Frisian Wadden Sea region to investigate the complex medieval human-environment interactions in the region as well as their relation to major land losses during storm surges. Subproject SP1 will provide references and archaeological analogies to interpret and contextualise the different elements of the medieval cultural landscape. As part of the interdisciplinary TORF ‘type case approach’, archaeological excavations of selected geophysical anomalies with our excavation frame methodology will verify and contextualize settlement elements (e.g., terps, building structures, graves, churches). Excavations of preserved elements of the medieval settlement landscape in the marshes serve as a reference for the interpretation. Sections through settlement features in tidal flats and marshes will provide stratigraphical reference, samples and datable finds. The assemblage of complete settlement plans of medieval to early modern settlements on the meso-scale in the defined working areas will provide a conclusive picture of the cultural landscape varieties in medieval North Frisia. This will also lead to understand the sequence and modus operandi of the medieval Frisian settlers and their newformed coastal society. Analyses of the settlement development from the early stages of marsh colonization through the destructive storm surge events and subsequent abandonment or reconstruction, will examine not only the chronological sequence of rise and fall, but also possible changes in colonization techniques. In the wake of the high medieval reclamations and cultivations, the North Frisian marsh region saw a significant cultural and economic rise, which can also be reflected in the surviving material culture. Detailed artefact analyses on a North Frisian medieval find corpus of new and archived archaeological finds will therefore include not only observations on everyday culture but also insights into social stratification and trade relations in a society that was strong involved in trans-regional maritime trade. SP1 will assemble the gained archaeological data and prepare the necessary remote sensing data alongside a frame of reference for interpretation, needed for the joint TORF data analysis. SP1 results thereby contribute to the overall TORF objective to better comprehend the repeated rise and failure of human efforts to secure resources, expand settlement activities or fight against land loss. Finally, SP1 Archaeology contributes to the knowledge on the cultural and natural heritage of the Wadden Sea region and to raise public awareness against coastal risks.
DFG Programme
Research Units
