What is a terp?
A terp is an artificial dwelling mound in a low-lying, flood-prone area, raised to keep houses, livestock and later churches dry during high water. In the Dutch province of Groningen a terp is called a wierde; in Germany the terms Warft and Wurt are used.
Origins
The first terps appeared in the salt-marsh area of present-day Friesland and Groningen around 600 to 500 BC. Inhabitants first settled on natural high points such as salt-marsh ridges. Because of rising sea levels and recurring floods, they raised their dwelling sites ever higher with clay, turf sods, manure and refuse. Over the centuries terps grew into mounds several metres high. Only with the construction of continuous dikes, from around the year 1000 onwards, did living on terps become less necessary.
Excavation for fertiliser
Terp soil is fertile because of its many organic remains. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, hundreds of terps were therefore wholly or partly dug away to sell the soil as fertiliser. This brought many archaeological finds to light. A large share of the more than a thousand terps in Friesland and Groningen has disappeared or been reduced.
Terps today
- Many villages still stand on a terp, often recognisable by a circular layout with the church at the highest point.
- Terps are largely protected as archaeological monuments. Digging or building on a terp usually requires prior archaeological investigation; check with the municipality.
- The principle returns in climate-adaptive building: houses or yards on raised ground in flood-prone areas.
Related terms
- Embankment slope
- Emergency dike
- Stone dike
- Climate-adaptive building
- Ground level
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