Figure 1: Derelict farmhouse in the stately Oldambt-style, last quarter of the 19th century, Hamdijk, north-eastern Groningen. While the region suffers from an economic and demographic decline, agricultural techniques have considerably changed and require different harvest storage and housing of farm machinery. Photo: H. Groenendijk, 2007
Figure 2: Aerial view of the coastal zone of the province of Groningen bordering the Wadden Sea, northern Netherlands. Most of the parcels are arable land (light colours), where the majority of the terp mounds are situated. Source: Google Maps
Figure 3a: Freshly ploughed terp mound De Hoogte (mun. of De Marne). A dark stain represents an exposed feature, from which an amateur archaeologist picked up a late-medieval vessel base (Figure 3b). Photo and drawing: H. Groenendijk
Figure 4: So-called eco-plough, in action on the terp De Houw (mun. of De Marne), participant in the Wierden en Waarden project (1994-1998). With a furrow only 15cm deep this picture, paraphrased 'the emergence of shallow ploughing', figured at that time on the cover of the farmers' magazine De Boerderij. The farmer would benefit from a lower fuel consumption and fertilizer expenditure and a better soil condition, yet shallow ploughing did not become common practice. Image: De Boerderij 1995
Figure 5: Archaeology-friendly ploughing, demonstrated on a participant terp within the Wierden en Waarden project (1994-1998), organised by the Agricultural Advisory Service. Photo: H. Kannegieter, Noordlaren
Figure 6: Private quarrying of fertile terp soil in the early 20th century caused steep escarpments (Eenum, mun. of Loppersum, 1910). What is left of these escarpments nowadays hampers efficient farming and accelerates the desiccation of the remaining terp body. Source: Groningen Institute of Archaeology, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Figure 7a/Figure 7b: The Groningen deputy in charge starts the injection of dredging material (2001). The dug-away sector of the Englum terp (mun. of Zuidhorn) has been transformed into a basin to collect dredging material from the nearby Reitdiep river. Map: Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland 1; Photo: Jur Bosboom, Provincie Groningen
Figure 8: Archaeological investigation of the escarpment profile of the Englum terp, 2000. Photo: Jur Bosboom, Provincie Groningen
Figure 9: Englum terp, 2001-2006. The maturing of the dredging material took several years and was accelerated by ploughing up the body to avoid unequal settling. Photo: Jur Bosboom, Provincie Groningen
Figure 10: Final act of the Englum project after modelling the quarried sector: placement of an info-panel rendering the history of the Englum terp, here flanked by the landowners. Photo: H. Groenendijk
Figure 11: The quarrying of the Ezinge terp (mun. of Winsum) stopped just in front of its 13th-century church. The dug-away sector now functions as an ice-rink. Photo: Jur Bosboom, Provincie Groningen
Figure 12a: Contour map of the village terp of Winsum (mun. of Winsum) and surroundings compared to the predictive archaeological map of the same area (Figure 12b). Sources: Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland 3; RAAP Archeologisch Adviesbureau, Weesp, project nr. 1732
Figure 13: Pilot coring area of c. 6km² near the village terp of Stitswerd (mun. of Eemsmond): Figure 13a the predictive archaeological map, showing high risk (red) apart from some dug-away areas (blue) and Figure 13b the improved predictive map with accurate archaeological values; legend: red = high risk, pink = average risk, yellow = low risk, hatched = dug-away area. Source: P. Vos, Deltares, projectnr. 1204018, 2011
Figure 14a: Excavation of a Mesolithic site on an extended cover-sand ridge in the Groningen Veenkoloniën (peat reclamation district, mun. of Stadskanaal). After the top soil has been removed, the colouring of the soil corresponds to the measure of topping off the original profile. Detail (Figure 14b): a group of shaft-like hearth-pits, reaching 40-70cm below the original surface, has just been sampled (left). Photo: H. Groenendijk, 1997
Figure 15: Participatory project Zonder boer geen voer ('Without farmers no food'), province of Noord-Brabant, connecting farmers, consumers and archaeologists alike. Source: www.zonderboergeenvoer.nl, consulted 12 March.2018
Figure 16: Pupils of the MBO Terra Groningen agricultural school are practice orientated and will often have to deal with archaeology in their future jobs. Source: www.mboterra.nl/Vestigingen/Groningen/Akkerbouw, consulted 12 March 2018
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