Due to positive experiences with using the highly sensitive caesium magnetometer on the magnetically low-contrast archaeology in the Netherlands, the selected study area was investigated with a caesium magnetometer that was adapted for the detection of archaeological traces. In order to reach the highest possible sensitivity, we chose the Geomatrix G-864. We adapted the instrument for archaeological prospection: We detached the GPS antenna and kept the read-out tablet minimum 10 m away from the probes, to avoid interference with the high sensitivity probes, so that two people walked in parallel, one with the instrument and one with the tablet. The instrument was set to the so-called ‘duo-sensor’ configuration. In this mode, probes are mounted in 50 cm distance on an aluminium rod, which is attached to a wooden frame, and carried along a zig-zag path at a height of c. 30±5 cm above the ground. After each 5 m, in parallel to the magnetic data, we set a marker. This helped achieve the best and most precise interpolation of the data during the subsequent processing stage. The magnetometer measurements were complemented by magnetic susceptibility measurements of the test trenches on the site, which were conducted with a handheld magnetic susceptibility meter SM-30 by ZHinstruments.
We found a wide range of archaeological features and three areas with settlement structures, two of them probably belonging to the LBK period.