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Holocene drift-sand activity in the northwest European sand belt is commonly directly linked to population pressure (agricultural activity) or to climate change (e.g. storminess). In the Pleistocene sand areas of the Netherlands, small-scale Holocene drift-sand activity began in the Mesolithic, whereas large-scale sand drifting started during the Middle Ages. This last phase not only coincides with the intensification of farming and demographic pressure but also is commonly associated with a colder climate and enhanced storminess. This raises the question to what extent drift-sand activity can be attributed to either human activities or natural forcing factors. In this study, we compare the spatial and temporal patterns of drift-sand occurrence for the four characteristic Pleistocene sand regions in the Netherlands for the period between 1000 BC and AD 1700. To this end, we compiled a new supra-regional overview of drift-sand activity based on age estimates (14C, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), archaeological and historical ages). The occurrence of sand drifting was then compared in time and space with historical-route networks, relative vegetation openness and climate. Results indicate a constant but low drift-sand activity between 1000 BC and AD 1000, interrupted by a remarkable decrease in activity around the BC/AD transition. It is evident that human pressure on the landscape was most influential on initiating sand drifting: this is supported by more frequent occurrences close to routes and the uninterrupted increase of drift-sand activity from AD 900 onwards, a period of high population density and large-scale deforestation. Once triggered by human activities, this drift-sand development was probably further intensified several centuries later during the cold and stormier ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA; AD 1570–1850).

This dataset contains a new national overview of the occurrence of drift sand activity in the Netherlands from ca. 5000 BC to AD 1700. The dataset has been compiled from overview studies, field studies and new data., Deze dataset bevat een nieuw landelijk overzicht van stuifzandvoorkomen en activiteit voor de periode ca. 5000 voor Chr tot ca. 1700 na Chr in Nederland. De dataset is gebaseerd op diverse overzichtsstudies, losse veldstudies en nieuwe gegevens. Omdat de mens een belangrijke rol speelde bij het ontstaan van stuifzanden in deze periode in Nederland, is dit nieuwe overzicht nuttig om het samenspel tussen mens en landschap in het verleden beter te begrijpen. De dataset bevat up-to-date informatie waaruit afgeleid kan worden wanneer en waar de mens het stuifzand zou hebben kunnen veroorzaakt en wanneer het stuifzand mogelijk een bedreiging vormde voor de landbouw of nederzettingen. Daarnaast kan deze dataset fungeren als historische context bij huidige stuifzanden die als waardevolle natuurgebieden worden beschouwd.

The Early Middle Ages (ca. 300 - 1000 AD) was a period of severe pan-European economic and demographic change. During this period population declined and human influence on the landscape diminished throughout large parts of Europe (Cheyette 2008). Traditionally archaeologists and historians regard these Early-Medieval developments as the result of cultural processes. However, recent reconstructions show frequent climate fluctuations (Büntgen et al. 2011) and dramatic landscape changes in the Netherlands for this period (Vos & Van Heeringen 1997; Stouthamer et al. 2011). This suggests that economic and demographic changes might not be induced by cultural processes only, but also by climate and landscape dynamics (e.g. riverflooding, sea ingressions). To determine how and to what extent environmental changes contributed to the Early-Medieval economic and demographic changes, the ‘The Dark Ages in an interdisciplinary light’ project was initiated. As part of the project, this contribution shows the landscape dynamics of the Dutch coastal area during the Early Medieval period. In this geomorphological dynamic region, major sea ingressions occurred forming large tidal inlets. Occupation in this region mainly occurred in the supratidal environment, e.g. on dwelling mounds (Vos & Gerrets 2005) and was most likely influenced by these landscape dynamics. Development of the geomorphological elements of these tidal systems (channels, tidal flats and salt marshes) is extensively mapped in a GIS and coupled to a database storing information on age of the tidal system and its individual geomorphological elements. This generates a new integrated overview of the development of tidal systems for every possible time step. Palaeogeographical maps can be derived and the GIS provides the possibility to statistically analyse sea ingression dynamics in the Early Middle Ages and how this differs from other periods of sea level highstand (~last 3000 years). By comparing these maps w