Woodland Dynamics as a Result of Settlement Relocation on Pleistocene Sandy Soils in the Netherlands (200 BC–AD 1400)

In this paper we investigate the potential of charcoal kilns as indicators (proxy data) of the interaction between settlement dynamics and the history of woodland presence, composition and structure. The results demonstrate that in our research area (Pleistocene sandy soils of the Netherlands) woodland regeneration and deforestation can be traced by a careful examination of the archaeological remains from charcoal production, provided such remains are systematically recorded, contextualized and subjected to meticulous dating, preferably 14C dating. Remains of charcoal kilns are also a useful source of information when attempting to reconstruct the occurrence and location (borders) of former woodlands. Optimum results are achieved for this purpose if charcoal kiln research is an integral part of an interdisciplinary landscape-historical approach. Woodland regeneration on abandoned fields as demonstrated by the presence of charcoal kilns seems to have been common for a long time, and it was not unusual for this to occur several times at the same site. Woodland ‘mobility’ and change as defined in this paper was brought about by a complex combination of three different types of settlement relocation: 1. expansion–contraction (periodic); 2. systemic micro-mobility (structural); 3. macro-mobility (incidental).