Exploring an Archaeology of the Dutch War of Independence in Flanders, Belgium

The archaeology of the Dutch War of Independence (1568-1648) in Flanders bears great potential in contributing to the European debate on early modern transformations and in raising public awareness of archaeology as a whole. Thus far, early modern features were however mostly incidentally found on multi-period sites and not as a result from specific research questions. An inventory of sites in the Zwin-Scheldt estuary illustrates the impact of the troubles on the archaeological record. These observations give rise to new research questions that, in turn, form the basis for the discipline to establish itself as a fully fledged academic research field and allow for it to be treated of equal value in the selections made by heritage officers.