Water management
Around 1,000 BC, water-logged land was a major problem for human settlements in this region in the north of the Netherlands. However, even at this early date, people were taking measures to deal with the water. Dark traces in the sand around each of the five housing plots that have been discovered show they were surrounded by drainage ditches. These channelled the water away from the buildings, making them habitable.

"It was thought that this area was uninhabited but, in fact, it was a kind of urban centre in the north," says Wouter Roessingh, who is leading the archaeological dig. The local population were cattle and grain farmers and were also involved in fishing. The archaeologists have discovered water holes and a burial mound as well as the settlement remains.

New development
When initial research indicated the presence of important archaeological finds, work on a new housing development had to be suspended. The archaeologists started their work in January and the excavation phase is due to be completed this month. The research project is costing one million euros, half of which is being paid for through government subsidy. The other 50 percent is being met by the construction company and Enkhuizen City Council.

Intact
In the 1970s, large-scale land consolidation in the north of the Netherlands led to even small hillocks being levelled. Many archaeological remains were probably lost in the process. The present six-hectare site happened to be left intact.

Flooding
The site is also exceptional in that the finds are just 40 centimetres below the surface, despite the passage of thousands of years. Archaeological discoveries elsewhere in the Netherlands are often are much deeper underground because floods have deposited sand on the sites for centuries. There have been fewer floods at the Enkhuizen site and the construction of the first dyke in the 14th century made flooding a thing of the past. This is the reason why the present archaeological discoveries are so close to the surface.