Eindscriptie Joep Orbons over mergelgroeves als bron voor archeologisch onderzoek beschikbaar
Archeoloog Joep Orbons is in september 2017 afgestudeerd op het archeologisch onderzoek van mergelgroeves aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam. Zijn eindscriptie is nu beschikbaar: "An Archaeology of the Darkness. Man-made underground structures in the Mergelland Region as a source for Archaeological Studies"
Introductie
This master thesis studies the man-made underground structures in the Mergelland region in the south of the Netherlands, crossing into neighboring Belgium. These man-made underground structures, covering 6000 years, have been studied by a wide variety of disciplines. Over the years published studies have included investigations into the geological,
flora- and faunal aspects of the structures, as well as their historical origins and use, and significance for local and family histories and genealogical research.
This thesis will not reproduce these extensive fields of research, but will instead focus on the hitherto neglected (industrial) archaeology of these underground workings. The goals of this study are twofold. First, I aim to show that these man-made
underground structures may be for the most part comparatively recent in date, but should none-the-less be regarded as legitimate archaeological features. Second, I wish to demonstrate that conventional archaeological research methods, such as
GIS and geophysics, may be applied to investigate and further our understanding of these underground structures, thereby providing a suite of archaeological techniques to encourage future studies.