Glossary · Term

Terp

A terp is an artificial dwelling mound built in the coastal salt marshes of the northern Netherlands and north-western Germany, where it is called a Wurt, to keep homes and livestock above storm floods. Terpen were raised from about 500 BCE, and Pliny the Elder described the Chauci living on them in the 1st century CE. Many villages in Friesland and Groningen still stand on them.

Terp
Image: Sandra Buhmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Chauci

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Terp. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/terp
MLA
“Terp.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/terp. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Terp.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/terp.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Terp’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/terp (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻