7 Simon Verdegem (BAAC Vlaanderen): DigHill80: crowdfunding and the power of participation A vacant lot near the De Kapellerie neighborhood in Wijtschate was the location of a unique First World War site. During the war, this place played a strategic role and was the scene of fierce fighting in 1914, 1917, and 1918. Already during the preliminary research in 2015, the exceptional nature of the site became clear. Despite the undeniable need for excavation, the research could not start until the spring of 2018 for several reasons. Thanks to an intensive international crowdfunding project, the site could finally be thoroughly investigated. The impressive results have made a significant contribution to our understanding of World War I in Flanders. Moreover, the project evolved into a participatory initiative where volunteers could actively contribute, schools and visitors had the opportunity to explore the site during excavations, and archaeological findings and developments were shared live with the public. Ben Bellefroid (Roma Media): “Echoes from the Past”. A citizen science archaeological prospection project in the forests of Brabant A citizen science archaeological prospection project in the forests of Brabant, coordinated by Ben Bellefroid (Roma Media) and Erwin Meylemans (Flanders Heritage Agency). The forests of Brabant (Belgium) are among the oldest forests in the world. They were once part of Caesar's intriguing Silva Carbonaris, the ancient coal forest allegedly covering big parts of Europe during the Roman conquest. Today, more than 100 square kilometers of this mythical forest remain, and the area was recently proclaimed a National Park (Nationaal Park Brabantse Wouden). With its ancient canopy and continuous afforestation, the forest protected a wide range of heritage relics in a well-preserved and almost undisturbed archaeological landscape. Now, thanks to the new technique of aerial LiDAR scans (lasers penetrating the vegetational cover) and the resulting elevation models (3D micro topographical models), archaeologists can thoroughly survey these forest-covered areas for the first time ever. However, preliminary research, in order to create a full and extensive inventory of all the remaining heritage relics in the forests of Brabant, revealed a real treasure trove of archaeological and anthropogenic relics: Bronze age and Roman burial mounds, Roman centuriatio walls, embankments, old roads and tracks, extraction pits, WWII-scars, medieval hunting salons, the list is endless, the relics everywhere. After two years of work, new elements appear on a daily basis, new relics are discovered, new hypotheses built. Researchers can’t see the forest for the trees anymore. There is one solution though. The project needs more eyes. The more one looks at the maps, the more one sees, the more eyes looking, the more information can be gathered. ‘Echoes from the Past’ is a hobby archaeology project involving the public in scientific archaeological prospection. The idea for this project grew out of an existing and growing public interest and involvement in the registration and protection of Roman relics in Meerdaal forest (part of the forests of Brabant). A small public community already got engaged in mapping relics, clearing sites for conservation and sharing data on artefacts. Now, the project partners with Scivic, the Citizen Science Flanders community, and uses the international citizen science platform Zooniverse, that provides all the technical support. Participants review segments of provided LiDAR data based maps, and can mark potential structures and relics. Enthusiasts can work from their home computers and can help scientists to unravel this complex and multi-layered forest landscape. All suggestions will be reviewed by Flanders Heritage Agency and an extensive set of data will be made available to scientists. The final inventory will be published as a research report. (BELLEFROID B., MEYLEMANS E., DE BIE M., 2025: Inventarisatie van archeologische en cultuurhistorische relicten in Meerdaalwoud. Onderzoeksrapport Agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed, in preparation.)
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