176 FORT •VOLUME 42 • 2014 Introduction The Eighty Years’War (also known as the Dutch War of Independence) is one of the most important parts of Dutch history. From 1568 to 1648 the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands fought against Spain for independence. The war ended in 1648 with the Peace of Münster, when the Dutch Republic was recognized as an independent country. Today traces of this war still can be seen in the Dutch landscape. Examples include fortified towns, such as Bourtange near Groningen, as well as earthen forts, such as the Krabbeschans in the province of Zeeland. However, many of these fortifications have disappeared due to development or agricultural activities. Recently interest has arisen in these fortifications in the province of Zeeland. As part of the Interreg IV-A project “Forts and Lines in Border-Wide Perspective,” 1 fortifications along the States-Spanish Lines were investigated archaeologically prior to (partial) reconstruction. In this article I present the results of one of these The Bordeelschans; an Archaeological Geophysical Survey of a Sconce from the Eighty Years’War Wouter B.Verschoof MA (Leiden University) RAAP Archaeological Consultancy Fig.1. The location of the research area (hatched); insert: location (star) in the Netherlands. Fort 42 part 2 - v.1 21/8/14 15:09 Page 176