Middeleeuwse ijzer- en houtskoolproductie op de Veluwe. Nieuw onderzoek van een productielandschap in het bosgebied ’t Asselt bij Rheden (Veluwezoom)

Between the seventh and twelfth century AD a large-scale iron production took place in the Veluwe region (Central Netherlands) based on the extraction of iron-rich loam concretions in the regional ice-pushed ridges. This iron production required large amounts of charcoal which were produced by the large-scale burning of semi-natural and/or coppice woods. There is palaeobotanical evidence that the woodland vegetation of the Veluwe diminished by two-third in this medieval period, partly because of medieval woodland reclamations, partly because of charcoal-burning. A master thesis project revealed the existence of an extensive and largely untouched iron production landscape in the coppice wood of ‘t Asselt (Southeastern Veluwe). Based on ceramics from the 8th-12th century, historical-geographical relics as well as written evidence this early and high medieval landscape layer seems rather complete and untouched, which makes it a very promising site for further archaeological research on medieval iron production landscapes.