Maisières-Canal, Belgium

aisières-Canal is located in the Province of Hainaut in Belgium, about three kilometres north-east of the city of Mons and near the villages of Maisières, Nimy and Obourg. Facing south, the site is situated at an altitude of 34 m on the right bank of the river Haine, which flows from east to west towards the Scheldt. The site was discovered by a resident of Mons in 1966, during works to widen a canal. On the initiative of François Twiesselmann, a rescue excavation was undertaken the same year by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences with the participation of the Society for Prehistoric Research in Hainaut.

In the area known as the “Champ de fouille”, located at the bottom of the canal's earthworks at an altitude of 29 m, i.e. several metres below the current level of the alluvial plain, an important occupation layer dated to around 28,000 BP was uncovered. A second, more limited area was discovered by Jean de Heinzelin on the north-eastern bank of the canal, at an altitude of around 34 m. Excavated by Paul Haesaerts between 1966 and 1968, this area also contains a single archaeological layer, probably contemporary with the occupation of the Champ de fouille. Studies carried out on the latter have identified a particular lithic tradition, the “Maisierian”, which developed in North-western Europe between the end of the Aurignacian and the beginning of the Gravettian and is known for its large, carefully shaped tanged and non-tanged pointed tools. Finally, between 2000 and 2002, a team from the University of Liège led by Rebecca Miller in collaboration with Paul Haesaerts (RBINS) carried out new excavations at the site, which led to the discovery of a hitherto unknown Aurignacian knapping workshop, dated to around 32,500 BP according to the chronostratigraphic data. Several TraceoLab members have been involved in the study of the lithic material from the Champ de fouille, notably in the framework of doctoral theses, with a focus on techno-functional and taphonomic approaches that have shed light on the production, use, and maintenance of domestic tools and hunting weaponry at the site. In addition, the faunal assemblage and the osseous industry have been the subject of re-evaluation in recent collaborative projects, which have provided new insights into hunting economy and craft activities. These recent efforts have provided a significant body of new, important data on an occupation whose possible remaining parts have now disappeared under the waters of the canal.

Maisières-Canal, Belgium

Further reading