Archaeological Expectation Map for River Floodplains in the Netherlands

A 2014 project by Deltares, University of Groningen, and Utrecht University for Rijkswaterstaat and the Cultural Heritage Agency produced this dataset. It includes digital maps and databases defining the project area, providing a physio-geographical and archaeological data foundation, and the final archaeological expectation maps. The final product consists of a time series of nine maps covering successive archaeological periods from hunter-gatherers to modern times.

Use Cases

• Predicting archaeological site locations based on landscape age and existing archaeological inventory data.
• Analyzing landscape evolution and geomorphological history of river floodplains.
• Supporting cultural heritage management and planning decisions for riverine areas.
• Conducting spatio-temporal analysis of human settlement patterns across nine archaeological periods.

Strengths

• Dataset is accompanied by a detailed report (Deltares Rapport 1207078) and PDF atlases at 1:25,000 scale.
• Integrates data from national databases and municipal expectation maps as of 2013.
• Provides a time series of nine maps covering successive archaeological periods.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Project by Deltares, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, and Universiteit Utrecht, commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat and the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed.

Collection Method

Geological-geomorphological mapping of floodplains and compilation of archaeological data from national databases and municipal maps.

Time Range

Data basis includes archaeological inventories up to 2013; project reported in 2014.

Geography

River floodplains (uiterwaarden) in the Dutch river region.