Before the construction of the great sea-dykes in Holland nearly the
whole of West Friesland would have been in that hybrid condition
described by Pliny in which it was difficult to say whether it
belonged to sea or land (_dubiumque terræ sit, an pars maris_). At
the present time, however, these lands are richly cultivated and
look as if they were a dead level. It is only on close inspection
that the monotony is relieved by certain elevations of considerable
extent called _Terpen_, whose summits rise to about the level of
the larger dykes. These mounds are situated at more or less regular
intervals, so that if the tides by any calamity had free scope, they
would appear as so many islands scattered over the country. It is on
such elevations that modern churches and villages are generally built,
and, till they accidentally attracted the attention of agriculturists,
nobody seemed to think anything about their origin. A few years ago it
was discovered that their interior was composed of a rich ammoniacal
deposit which agriculturists found valuable as a fertilising agent
when spread over their fields. The excavation of this substance for
manuring purposes now forms an important industry, and any landed
proprietor who happens to own a workable _terp_--_i.e._ one free of
buildings--is on the way to realise a small fortune. When a _terp_
is found suitable for being excavated they generally commence by
digging a canal close up to its base, sufficiently large to admit of
the passage of good-sized boats. The boats are then easily loaded
with the stuff and so it is conveyed to all parts of the country. As
the workings advance the canal is also advanced, so that the boats
are always in close proximity to the diggings. In the course of these
operations, bones and horns of various animals, pottery, and other
relics of human industry, were occasionally turned up.
By degrees these repeated discoveries attracted the attention of
antiquaries, and Dr. Pleyte, of Leyden, is now publishing a large
illustrated work on the antiquities of Holland (B. 301), in which a
conspicuous place is given to the terp-mounds and their contents.
It is, however, to some of the office-bearers of the Museum of the
Friesch Genootschap at Leeuwarden, more especially Mr. Corbelijn
Battaerd, its conservator, that I am indebted for much of my
information on the subject. In this museum are stored up most of
the objects hitherto found in the terp-mounds, and the collection,
already unique of its kind, is daily and rapidly increasing, as orders
have been issued in regard to many of them that no relics are to
be disposed of without being, in the first place, submitted to the
authorities of the museum.
Like most countries, the early traditions of Holland have been
forgotten or ignored, and in its annals little mention is made of the
_terpen_. In explanation of the origin and early use of the word, Dr.
Pleyte quotes from Ocko van Scharl a passage to the effect that one of
the ancient kings of Friesland, named Adgillus, who reigned towards
the end of the sixth century, had caused, on account of the ravages
of an inundation which took place four years prior to his accession,
a large number of elevated places to be formed, so as to give shelter
to man and beast in the event of a recurrence of this danger. These
mounds were then called _Terpen_.
Mr. Dirks, president of the Friesch Genootschap, as early as 1871
characterised these mounds as analogous to the terramara beds of North
Italy ("_ce sont des terramares historiques_");[65] but it remained
to Professor Pigorini of Rome to show that they were identical as
regards internal structure. This he did in 1881 (B. 372c), after
a visit to one at Aalzum which was then being excavated, when he
showed that there was a circumscribing dyke, and, although no actual
piles were then visible, he was informed by the proprietors that
such wooden structures had been occasionally met with. Prior to his
visit, it appears that no special attention was directed to these
structural remains. From all he could learn, however, on this point,
and especially from a consideration of the stratified arrangements
of the _débris_, Pigorini concluded that the deposits were due to
pile-dwellings, and had accumulated under precisely similar conditions
to the terremare, in regard to which he is such a distinguished
authority.
The _terp_ at Aalzum is still being systematically excavated, and,
though only as yet partially cleared off, its results, from an
archæological point of view, are now second to none of the kind in
Holland. Moreover, the excavations are conducted on an extensive
scale, and the locality is readily accessible. I can, therefore,
conceive of no better means of conveying to you some knowledge of the
nature and structural phenomena of these remarkable deposits, than by
detailing the facts which came under my own cognisance during a visit
I made this summer to the same spot under the guidance of my excellent
friend, Mr. Battaerd.
The _terp_ lies about a mile to the north of the town of Dokkum, some
twelve miles from Leeuwarden, and four or five from the seashore.
In approaching the locality from Dokkum there was little to attract
special notice beyond the usual Dutch scenery--canals, rich meadows,
herds of splendid cattle, and here and there some well-cultivated
cornfields. In front of us a slight elevation could be discerned,
crowned by a small church in the midst of a clump of trees, the
surroundings of which were neatly hedged meadows and cornfields. As
we advanced towards this church, and within a few hundred yards of
it, we entered on a sloping road, as if raised on a dyke, but on
each side the land was perfectly flat and bearing a splendid crop:
here a field of magnificent beans, and there an equally promising
one of wheat. These fields, said Mr. Battaerd, were formerly part
of the _terp_-mound from which the fertilising stuff has already
been removed, but this road was left undisturbed, so that we are
now actually walking on a portion of its surface. By-and-by we came
in sight of heaps of clayey stuff, the tops of which sparkled with
reflected light, and in their midst were to be seen the masts and
rigging of three boats. Those whitish clay-like heaps, said Mr.
Battaerd, formed the surface soil, which, being of no commercial
value, had to be wheeled off before the saleable deposits could
be got at. At last the actual workings were reached, and we found
ourselves in front of a perpendicular section some 15 or 18 feet high,
from which men and women were busily engaged in loading the boats.
Uppermost in my thoughts was the paramount question of the existence
of upright piles, which, it will be remembered, Pigorini had not
actually seen. Great was my delight when, at the very first glance,
my eye detected an undoubted pile of oak just in face of the cutting.
Close by it I soon found another and as we moved along numbers were
observed, some soft and yielding, scarcely offering any resistance
to the spade; and others of oak very hard in the centre, but more
decayed and ragged-like than those I have been in the habit of seeing
among the lake-dwelling remains. Those seen in this section differed
considerably in size; and I observed that some penetrated deeper
than others. At a little distance lay a heap of oak beams which had
recently been removed from the trenches--one of which I measured and
found it to be four yards in length, and from six to eight inches
thick. Upon inquiry, I ascertained that these beams lay horizontally,
and about half way down, in the stratified stuff.
Those who, like Professor Pigorini, are acquainted with the structural
features of the terremare of Northern Italy, will not be surprised
at the comparative rarity with which piles are met with in the
_terpen_, because of the rapidity with which timbers, when buried in
dry earth, decay and disappear altogether, leaving in many instances
no traces whatever behind them. This fact was strikingly shown by
Chierici, who produced positive evidence of the former existence of
piles in the upper strata of some of the terremare, by showing that
the holes left by the piles, after the woody fibre had completely
disappeared by decomposition, had become subsequently filled up by
dust and infiltrated material, which ultimately became hardened, and
so retained the actual form of the original piles. (See page 248.)
In short, natural casts of the original piles were accidentally
formed, which thus disclosed a knowledge of their former existence,
which otherwise might never have been suspected. To the soundness
of this deduction I have myself unconsciously contributed by an
observation which I made some years ago, while digging at the crannog
of Lochspouts, and having recorded it I may perhaps be allowed here to
repeat my words. "One day I was greatly puzzled by finding what was
evidently a portion of a birch tree, from 6 to 9 inches in diameter,
quite flat, and with scarcely any wood left inside the thick bark.
In no instance previously had I seen the evidence of pressure on
logs of this size; but after carefully considering the point it was
ascertained that such effects occurred only in the upper portion of
the mound, and above the log pavement, where the wood had been exposed
to atmospheric influences, so that when the woody fibres rotted away
the flattening of the bark was easily produced. All the logs found
buried in water or mud retained their original dimensions and showed
no trace of having yielded to superincumbent pressure."[66]
The absence of piles and wooden structures from many of these
mounds is, therefore, no proof that they have not formerly existed;
and, indeed, it is difficult to account for the horizontality and
regularity of the beds on any other hypothesis.
While I wandered about amidst the various sections presented by the
progressive stages of the excavations, wondering at the distinctness
of the strata, or picking up stray objects from the _débris_, such
as mussel shells, bits of bone, fragments of pottery, etc., which
were to be found here and there sticking in the face of the cuttings,
my friend, Mr. Battaerd, was deeply occupied in examining a heap of
bones, which lay weathering in a sunny corner. Having joined him in
his osteological study, I found that the chief point of attraction
was the head of a urus (_Bos_ _primigenius_) of great size, and with
splendid horn cores--the finest example, according to Mr. Battaerd,
that had yet found its way to the museum.
The land close to the brink of the section, and extending over a
considerable portion of the mound, was occupied by growing corn,
and hence its dimensions can only be approximately stated. The
proprietors, Messrs. W. and J. Bierma, obligingly accompanied us,
and one of them assured me it could not be less than from three to
four hundred yards in diameter. Its greatest height above the water
in the canal was 18 feet, but of course the level of the canal water
is considerably lower than that of high tide in the open sea. The
commercially valuable stuff commenced some 3 or 4 feet below the
surface, and continued without interruption to within a few feet of
the canal water. It was in this intermediate portion that the relics
were found: but their exact position, especially that of the smaller
objects, was seldom determined, as it was generally after the stuff
had become partially broken up during transport that they were found.
The stuff _in situ_ was distinctly stratified, forming layers of
various thicknesses, from a finger breadth up to 3 or 4 inches, or
sometimes more, which in some instances could be continuously traced
for long distances. Sometimes they shelved out altogether, and others
commenced. Here, a bed of fibrinous matter, in which quantities of the
partly decomposed fibres of flax could be readily recognisable; there,
a thickish deposit of a brownish glutinous stuff like peat. Charcoal
and ashes permeated the whole, and showed themselves sometimes as
distinct layers. Clay and sand were also largely mixed with these
deposits, and occasionally assumed the form of distinct and separate
beds.
Having so far satisfied ourselves as to the structural arrangements of
the mound, and the disposition of its contents, we walked up to the
church, which is but a short distance from the workings. This small
edifice is surrounded by a burying ground, and among the gravestones
are some ancient-looking ones. Mr. Battaerd informed me that it dates
as far back as the eleventh century.
It is calculated that there are altogether about 150 of these mounds
in West Friesland alone, and that of these about the half have been
more or less examined, some being now entirely cleared away. They are
also to be found in the province of Gröningen and some other parts of
Holland. Dr. Dirks states that the town of Leeuwarden is built over
two terp-mounds;[67] and Dr. Pleyte informed me that he has reason to
believe that the town of Leyden also reposes on similar deposits.
RELICS (=Fig. 100=).--The relics of human industry collected from
the _terpen_ are very varied and numerous. Of these the following
notes and illustrations, taken chiefly from the large assortment in
the Leeuwarden Museum, will serve to convey some general idea of the
social economy which prevailed among the occupiers of these singular
settlements, as well as of the period in which they flourished.
_Prehistoric._--The prehistoric remains, commonly so-called, such
as cutting implements of stone, are only feebly represented, but
occasionally they do turn up, in which respect the _terpen_ resemble
the Scottish and Irish crannogs.
_Clay Objects._--Perforated loom-weights, both conical and flat;
spindle-whorls in great numbers, and often ornamented with
finger marks or grooved lines (Nos. 2 and 3). Some flat and
triangularly-shaped objects of clay (No. 22) are perforated with
three holes, one at each angle, which are sometimes perpendicular
and sometimes parallel to the surface; in bulk and composition they
correspond with the loom-weights.
_Pottery._--Pottery is, as a rule, coarse but abundant, and represents
vessels of various shapes and sizes, generally with ears, but a few
with handles (Nos. 20 and 23). Samian ware is represented by many
fragments of bowls and dishes. A few vases, apparently home-made,
have some traces of coloured patches; and there are lids with raised
handles and ornamented with hollowed dots.
_Bone and Horn._--Bone and horn implements are very abundant,
consisting of combs (Nos. 1 and 16 to 19) of varied forms, and
constructed of plates riveted together with iron rivets, and
ornamented with consecutive circles, lines, dots, and curvilinear
figures; among them are also a few combs with very long teeth (No.
30).[68] There are also pins (Nos. 26 and 28), needles (No. 29),
buttons (No. 25), dice (No. 21), finger rings (No. 12), knife handles,
pointers, etc. (Nos. 10, 11, 13 and 27). Many so-called skates made
from the long bone of the horse's leg. Two or three short bones
(foot of the ox) are covered with concentric circles, apparently for
ornamentation. A curious bone object (No. 7) is supposed to have been
used in making twine or ropes.
[Illustration: =Fig. 100.=--TERPEN. Nos. 24 = ⅙, 12, 21, 27, and 29
= ⅔, and the rest = ⅓ real size.]
_Glass._--Beads, blue, green and variegated; also glass slag.
_Metal Objects._--A few bronze dishes (No. 5), one a tripod with
projecting handle (No. 15). Figurines of men and animals; the hand of
a Roman statue, apparently a female and about full size; Roman fibulæ;
some three or four double spirals; a small pair of shears (No. 8), and
a few bracelets with clasping-hooks. All these are of bronze. Among
objects of iron are shears, hammers, bridle-bits (=Fig. 101=), slag,
etc. A leaden bar or pig weighing 17 kilogrammes and marked with three
crosses, so, "XXX", was found at Achlum.
_Coins._--Anglo-Saxon coins very abundant: at Hallum 180 _sceattæ_
were found in a jar; Byzantine money in gold; Roman imperial money,
generally in silver, but sometimes in gold; Frankish coins. The
proprietors of Aalzum found a few silver coins in this terp with the
following inscription: "+ HLOTHARIVS. IMP. DORE STATVS MON (_eta_),"
which defines their date to be between 840 and 855 A.D.[69]
[Illustration: =Fig. 101.=--TERPEN. Iron Bridle-bit, ¼ real size.]
_Wooden Objects._--Small spades precisely similar to those used by
children while amusing themselves by digging the sand on the seashore.
Numbers of large casks the staves of which are kept together by three
iron hoops. In diameter these casks are not more than an ordinary
herring barrel, but in length they are from six to seven feet, and
about one-third from the top there is a small square hole 4 or 5
inches in diameter. The ends of the staves at the top rim of some are
much decayed, but the rest is perfectly sound, and for this reason
they are supposed to have stood in water with only the upper parts
exposed. They have been found in almost all the _terpen_ examined,
usually at regular distances, and deeply buried. One, 6 feet high, was
found resting inside a vat 3 feet deep, and its highest point was over
two yards below the surface of the mound. Canoes and small paddles may
also be mentioned as occasional relics.
_Nondescript Objects._--Cock spurs; egg-shells of the domestic fowl
and goose, some of which, singularly enough, were, when found, still
unbroken; shells of various kinds of sea-urchins, star-fishes, and
mussels; amber beads, also this material in the unworked form;
amorphous vivianite; large quantities of the _débris_ of flax; one
curious object is a flute made of the shank bone of a small animal;
one small fictile dish has four feet, and a few others are in the form
of three cups attached. At Aalzum, on the occasion of my visit, among
the articles purchased by Mr. Battaerd were a mitten and some sort of
head-dress like a felt wide-awake. The mitten had only one stall, for
the thumb.
In the _terp_ called Beetgum there was found an urn, like those
from the dolmens of the Drenthe, containing some burnt bones. Human
bones are sometimes found, but they are supposed to have belonged to
secondary burials. At Aalzum a grave was found containing a body and
along with it was a fibula of the Merovingian period, with a flat back
containing a beautiful mosaic pattern of variegated glass and amber.
_Fauna._--Osseous remains representing the following animals:--Horse,
ox (several varieties--_Bos taurus_, _primgenius_, _longifrons_,
_brevicornis_), cat, dog, sheep, wild boar, deer, roe, and fallow
deer. Among the skulls of these animals (of which there are many) are
one or two of the four-horned sheep. It may be of interest to note
that the osseous remains of this animal were among those identified by
Sir W. R. Wilde as coming from the crannog of Lagore (page 351).