BEDUM (GR.), WIERDE, VEENTERP, DIJKDORP?
Abstract
In 1995-1996 the once famous church of St. Walfridus in Bedum is being restored. This meant the first and for many years last opportunity to have a look at the oldest foundations inside the church. The excavation also gave an insight into the earliest type of settlement in the area. Around the 9th century AD, people lived on small terp mounds on a raised bog. After several centuries of erosion, the bog had completely disappeared and a fairly large terp mound had been built. About AD 1200 a dike surrounding a larger area more or less secured Bedum against flooding by the sea and made it possible to enlarge the settlement. During the late middle ages, people created farmland by digging canals and building dike-locks and drainage mills.
