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Project Events
New talk on Dark Earth
2026-03-09
Open Spaces Are Not Empty!
Brussels, 19 February 2025
Our teammate Meihui Li, a PhD student at VUB, delivered an inspiring talk titled “Open Spaces Are Not Empty!” at the AMGC-VUB Seminar, sharing insights into how urban soils contain the untold stories of medieval towns.
Focusing on Oudenaarde’s historic centre, she used soil micromorphology to compare two contrasting open spaces:
- Broodstraat, a canal-adjacent wasteland
- The Central Marketplace
By analysing Urban Dark Earth (UDE) micro-stratigraphy, anthropogenic inclusions, and reworking signatures, the research revealed that this work, part of the WEAVE project exploring how European towns have urbanised through soil micromorphology, shows that urban soils are not merely background but tell layered stories of their own. The findings subtly challenge the usual emphasis on buildings in archaeology and open an exciting new perspective to incorporate open spaces into our urban heritage narratives.
— More info about the AMGC Seminar | https://amgc.research.vub.be/list-of-amgc-seminars-2025-2026
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May the syrup be with you 🧇✨
2025-09-17
Free waffle day at VUB – the dark side of hunger defeated.
Free Waffles
The Force was strong at VUB… but not at the free waffle station at the beginning of the semester! Jedi and Padawans bravely tried to face the dark side of hunger, but even the strongest couldn’t resist the call of a free waffle.
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Facing urban complexity, even through a screen.
2025-09-05
Session 72 — Facing complexity of the urban stratigraphy (Zoom slide). | EAA 2025 — Session page for “Facing complexity of the urban stratigraphy”. | Session 72 — Agenda excerpt with talk titles and schedule. | Live online discussion during Session 72. | EAA 2025 — live session view for “Facing complexity…”.
EAA - European Association of Archaeologists
On 5 September 2025, the “Welcome to the Dark Side” team led the session Facing Complexity of the Urban Stratigraphy at this year’s EAA. Even though it was an online meeting, lively and engaging discussions arose around six exciting presentations. Once again, it became clear that the Force to shed light on the Dark Side is strong — even through a screen!
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New Article online!
2025-06-25
The publication is now avaiable on Springer Nature Link
Understanding late medieval farming practices: an interdisciplinary study on byre remains from the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium)
During the preventive archaeological excavation in the cellar of the site of petite Rue des Bouchers in the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium), the waterlogged remains of a thirteenth century AD sunken byre (potstal) were discovered. The exceptional preservation instigated a multiproxy approach, including micro-archaeology, micromorphology, phytolith and endoparasite egg analysis on thin sections, palynology and the study of plant macroremains on the fill of the structure. Beyond permitting to detail the content and the multiple origins of the fill (including excremental waste and urines, fodder and bedding material, plaggen and/or soil sods, household and construction waste), this study also provides detailed insights into the foddering customs, hygienic conditions within the stable, and the health status of the animals kept. On a more general scale this study documented late medieval farming practices in Brussels, more specifically the need to collect substantial amounts of manure to add as fertilizer onto the cultivated poor sandy soils.
Find the Article online open access on Springer Nature Link
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Dark Earth, bright insights in Tübingen.
2025-05-21
Our team at the DIG in Tübingen. | DIG 2025 hosted at the University of Tübingen. | Defining Urban Dark Earth. | Talk by Yannick Devos presenting the Dark Earth project. | Engaging discussion around Dark Earth.
Developing International Geoarchaeology in Tübingen
From 21 to 25 May, the Brussels team took part in the 11th DIG (Developing International Geoarchaeology) meeting, organised by the University of Tübingen. Yannick Devos and Meihui Li proudly represented our “Welcome to the Dark Side” project. Through one talk and two posters, they attempted to shed some light on the Dark Side — proving that even Dark Earth can be illuminating.
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