Netherlands Journal of Geosciences — Geologie en Mijnbouw |96 – 3 | 279–290 | 2017 doi:10.1017/njg.2017.9 Stratigraphic and palaeoecological evidence for late medieval to early modern peat extraction from bogs in Het Gooi (Western Netherlands) Jan Sevink∗ & Bas van Geel Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands ∗ Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Manuscript received: 2 November 2016, accepted: 15 May 2017 Abstract In the Monnikenberg estate, built in the mid-19th century in a Pleistocene coversand area to the south of Hilversum (the Netherlands), a depression with a small man-made mire was found to contain the remains of a complex peaty fill of a larger mire. Microfossil study and radiocarbon dating showed that its development started at the beginning of the third millennium BC through water stagnation on a podzol in combination with a high groundwater level, and about two millennia ago the vegetation had progressed from a mesotrophic mire to an ombrotrophic bog. Such origin, development and age are in conformity with the results for some other recently studied mires in the Het Gooi region (Gijzenveen; Van Geel et al., 2016). In the Monnikenberg mire, a discrepancy was found between the radiocarbon age of the upper part of the peaty fill and its clearly medieval or younger age as evidenced by its microfossil content, notably the occurrence of pollen of buckwheat (Fagopyrum) and cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). These species were first introduced in the Netherlands during the late Middle Ages. From further observations in a large pit in the former border zone of the mire, it is concluded that this discrepancy and the unique sedimentary structures, observed in this pit, result from peat exploitation and contemporary reworking of its sandy overburden during the Late Middle Ages or Early Modern Times. This is the first evidence for local early peat exploitation for such mires in Het Gooi. The results underpin the importance of microfossil analyses for proper interpretation of radiocarbon data, when studying mire fills. Additionally, they provide further proof for the development of podzols and ericaceous vegetation prior to and independent of early prehistoric agriculture in the Dutch Pleistocene coversand areas, and for the early (pre-medieval) start of wind erosion and deposition of drift sands. Keywords: Late Middle Ages, mire, pollen, peat extraction, vegetation succession Introduction In some corings, this fill was over 1 m thick and included well- developed peat layers, potentially allowing for more detailed Recent surveys by Sevink & Den Haan (2012) and Den Haan & insight into the genesis and history of the area. In the border Sevink (2014) of the Monnikenberg estate (Figs 1, 2), to the zone, the organic fill was overlain by yellowish drift sand. A core SW of the Groot Wasmeer, east of Hilversum (the Netherlands), in that zone was studied for its pollen and other microfossils showed that its small pool (the Monnikenven) is man-made. It contents (for location and diagram ‘Monnikenven-1’, see Fig. 2; is situated in a former mire, with a predominantly peaty fill de- Fig. 5, further below). Based on radiocarbon dating of selected veloped on a stagnative podzol. This fill had been drastically above-ground plant remains, the lower part of the fill at this affected by the building of the estate around 1840, which in- site dated from around 1900 cal BC, while higher up ages of AD cluded the creation of the current Monnikenven, but in places 0–400 cal were obtained (Table 1). As well as the reversal in time the original fill seemed to be well conserved, notably in the of the two upper radiocarbon dates, there was another chrono- southern border zone where more recent drift sands acted as logical problem: the peat in the upper 50 cm of the studied core protective cover (Fig. 3). appeared to contain pollen of cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)and C Netherlands Journal of Geosciences Foundation 2017 279 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 30 Sep 2021 at 08:20:03, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/njg.2017.9 Netherlands Journal of Geosciences — Geologie en Mijnbouw LAREN Laarder Wasmeren HILVERSUM Estate Monnikenberg BAARN LAGE VUURSCHE 012 kmN Fig. 1. The location of the Monnikenberg estate. buckwheat (Fagopyrum). Cornflower is a plant species that first (Fig. 4). Furthermore, we present radiocarbon datings and mi- occurred in the Netherlands during the High Middle Ages (Pals crofossil analyses, which served to reconstruct the age and ori- & Van Geel, 1976; Bakels, 2012); buckwheat pollen grains have gin of the various sediments and structures. Lastly, we briefly been continuously present only since the Late Middle Ages (De discuss the implications of our results for the ongoing discussion Klerk et al., 2015). Evidently, the presence of pollen from these on the origin and age of the Dutch heathlands and drift sands. two species is inconsistent with the radiocarbon ages. A tenta- tive explanation might be that people exploited peat for fuel in the Late Middle Ages or Early Modern Times, thereby disturbing Setting the fill, but historical records of such activities do not exist. To allow for more detailed observations and sampling of the Today, the Monnikenven is a small shallow pool in a former mire. fill, a large pit was dug in the southern border zone where The current water level of the pool is at maximum around 320 cm the drift-sand cover was known to be up to 1 m thick. In this + NAP (Dutch Ordnance Datum), but commonly between 270 pit (Monnikenven-2; Fig. 2), very unusual chaotically stratified and 290 cm + NAP, while the top of the stagnative layer is mostly sedimentary structures were observed between the underlying between 200 and 250 cm + NAP, with some deeper parts (to stagnative podzol and the overlying more yellowish drift sand. about 170 cm + NAP). The latter depth is more or less equal These structures would not have been properly understood in to the current mean highest groundwater level (GHG), which cores, and resembled phenomena that in places had been ob- lies at about 180 cm + NAP. This is considerably lower than the served in sections in the Groot Wasmeer border zone (Fig. 4). maximum groundwater level that existed in the nearby Laarder In the present paper, we describe these sedimentary structures Wasmeren area around 3000 BC (230 cm + NAP: Sevink et al., 280 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.22, on 30 Sep 2021 at 08:20:03, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/njg.2017.9 Netherlands Journal of Geosciences — Geologie en Mijnbouw Fig. 2. The current Monnikenberg mire with the coring locations and extension of the stagnative layer (in red). Locations of Monnikenven-1 (M1) and Monnikenven-2 (M2) indicated with *. 2013), and thus deeper parts of the mire were likely submerged at around AD 1400 by OSL (Sevink et al., 2013). The sequence at that time. resembles that observed in corings in the nearby Monnikenven. The current topography of the parcel in which the Monniken- Early maps suggest that the Groot Wasmeer lake was at least ven is located dates back to the mid-19th century. At that time, partly filled with more or less organic sediment. However, dur- its higher sandy parts were levelled and the excavated podzolic ing a sanitation operation at the beginning of the 21st cen- material was used to fill in the lower parts, resulting in a more tury, when the lake was completely drained (Sevink et al., 2008, or less level field with a small pool (the current Monnikenven) 2012), in its central part such sedimentary fill appeared to be and, adjacent to that, a low artificial hill. In its southern bor- virtually non-existent. This eventually might be attributed to der zone, forest was planted with beech (Fagus sylvatica)asthe earlier extraction of peat, since such extraction is known from major tree species (Den Haan & Sevink, 2014). early historical records for Het Gooi (Borger, 1992), but there is To the NW of the Monnikenven, a similar large lake occurs no historical evidence for such practice in this part of the re- (the Groot Wasmeer) that holds a complex of white sands with gion. The absence of a fill may also be due to later human activ- some thin intercalated peaty layers (Sevink et al., 2013). This ities, including the massive dredging of sand from a deep pit in lake also formed by water stagnation on a dense podzol. The the centre of the lake in the 20th century. Whatever the causes sands in its border zone are of aeolian origin, but were deposited were, they prevented a detailed study of the earlier history and in a marshy environment, acquiring their bleached colour by formation of this lake, and its surroundings, and prompted us post-depositional reduction, like the bleached sands in the Mon- to study the Monnikenven fill in more detail. nikenven mire. Aeolian deposition in this border zone was found to have started around 400 BC (optically stimulated lumines- Materials and methods cence (OSL) dating), an intercalated peat layer dated to around 2000 years ago (14C dating), and the transition from bleached The southern maximum extension of the mire is indicated in white sands to overlying yellow, terrestrial drift sands was dated Figure 2. Here the predominantly organic fill is covered by drift 281 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core.