Kristof Dombrecht

Modelling Monnikerede : the topographical reconstruction of a deserted medieval outport near Bruges

The small outport of Monnikerede was part of the portuary system of the later medieval international market of Bruges, which used the Zwin tidal inlet as its gateway to overseas markets. When political, economic and environmental conditions in the Zwin harbours deteriorated, Monnikerede slowly became depopulated and eventually disappeared from the landscape. In order to localise and analyse the morphology of this deserted harbour, an interdisciplinary research scheme was initiated and aimed at integrating historical, cartographic, archaeological and geophysical data. The GIS-based methodology showed that this combination of complementary sources enabled a topographical reconstruction up to the level of individual parcels and allowed for the discernment of social topography. The decline of the city could be visualised through a series of time slices between 1450 and 1850, indicating that Monnikerede’s misfortunes are reflected in the disintegration of the urban fabric. We conclude that integrated research into the available historical and archaeological data can be successful in piecing together the topographical evolution of a now deserted settlement.