No place like home?: A GIS analysis of Medieval building ground plans in Oud-Leusden

Oud-Leusden, near Amersfoort in the Netherlands, was the site of large-scale excavations in 1983 and 1984. Almost 40 years later, in 2021-2022, the excavation drawings of Oud-Leusden have been digitised and compiled into a GIS model containing all 45 trenches. This workflow is compared to other methods of analysing paper drawings, namely generating vector images or direct analysis of the paper maps. Nevertheless, GIS is decidedly the most advantageous method for this case study. This digital map therefore forms the basis of this research into Early and Central Medieval building ground plans of houses. Various GIS operations are used to uncover these Medieval structures from the trench drawings, which could then be further developed into technical drawings as defined by Theuws in 2014. In total, eight Medieval house structures were discovered, of which three could be elaborated as technical drawings. These drawings allowed for an in-depth analysis of their typology and construction....Show moreOud-Leusden, near Amersfoort in the Netherlands, was the site of large-scale excavations in 1983 and 1984. Almost 40 years later, in 2021-2022, the excavation drawings of Oud-Leusden have been digitised and compiled into a GIS model containing all 45 trenches. This workflow is compared to other methods of analysing paper drawings, namely generating vector images or direct analysis of the paper maps. Nevertheless, GIS is decidedly the most advantageous method for this case study. This digital map therefore forms the basis of this research into Early and Central Medieval building ground plans of houses. Various GIS operations are used to uncover these Medieval structures from the trench drawings, which could then be further developed into technical drawings as defined by Theuws in 2014. In total, eight Medieval house structures were discovered, of which three could be elaborated as technical drawings. These drawings allowed for an in-depth analysis of their typology and construction. One structure (S34) showed strong similarities to type H2 of the South-Netherlands as defined by Huijbers (2014) and type Gasselte B of the North-Eastern Netherlands as defined by Waterbolk (2009). When also taking into account the accompanying finds, this would date the structure to between the mid-10th to 13th century. The second structure (S36) also bears a strong similarity to type Gasselte B and could be dated to between the 11th and 14th century. The third and last structure (S39) appeared to be resemble an intermediate type between Gasselte A and B, with a shape that conforms to type A and a size that conforms to type B. The date of construction is expected to be between the 10th and 13th century. From this typological comparison it can be concluded that the structures at Oud-Leusden show a strong similarity to those of the North-Eastern Netherlands, indicating a certain degree of cultural exchange. Lastly, a theory was proposed that suggests the roof-carrying uprights of one of the structures (S36) were set out using a rope between the outer uprights and intervals were measured on the rope using feet. By pulling the slackened line taut at these intervals a curved row was created, which forms the basis of the Medieval boat-shaped houses. By generating different measurement drawings that demonstrated regularities in the distances between the posts, evidence could be generated to support this theory.Show less

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No place like home? A GIS analysis of Medieval building ground plans in Oud-Leusden