Peat (veen)

Humans have had a lot of influence on the development of peat. Earlier, we used peat as a fuel, which is why peat has become more rare, and is an important part of our history. The people from the past have made peat, to what it is nowadays. For example in the Peel or Drenthe, are areas were a lot pet can be found. The inhabitants of this region already had discovered that dried peat bogs, were a good use for fuel. For the use of fuel, and so for their ovens, first a lot of ditches along the peat swamp were made . In a primitive way, one tried to get as much peat from the so called “ boerenkuilen” , as possible. The next day they found these ditches stood naturally full of water ! How deeper they dug, how more risks there were. This was because the walls of these ditches could easily collapse. Once the upper surface of the peat excavation area has been made as level as possible, it is divided up into 'banks'. Using a special plank as wide as the pit to be excavated, a peat cutter or iron is used to make cuts. Then the sods of peat are cut from the bank in the right size using an 'oplegger', which is a special narrow wooden spade. The peat cutter throws the heavy peat, weighing many kilos, onto a wheelbarrow which can hold 14 of these wet sods. A barrowman then takes them to the drying field where, with a quarter turn of the barrow, the sods are dumped and laid out to dry.