WORKING GROUP 7 
SCHELLART 
429 
Fig. 3. Castle of Moermond 
been recorded on oblique photographs. Before the war, the castle of Moermond 
(on the island of Schouwen) was a charmingly situated country house. As a 
result of the 1953 floods all the trees were destroyed and scientific investigations 
could be carried out. A polygonal stronghold, the oldest predecessor of the 
existing castle, was unearthed within the gentle curve of the moat (top right 
of fig. 3), and a second keep was found in the garden. 
Details of excavations, which are registered as well as possible on terrestrial 
photographs, are of great use to the archaeologist, but for a view of the general 
situation the aerial photograph is essential. In no other way can the situation of 
walls and towers, of the gate and the well, of the domestic quarters and the 
moat, be more strikingly depicted and recorded. 
Another case in which the aerial photograph proved to be most useful was 
the excavation of the castle of Hellenburg (Zeeland). Its location could not be 
detected on aerial photographs but was indicated in the terrain by brick rubble. 
After the excavation of the site, several aerial photographs were taken. From 
these the trained archaeologist was able to detect the interesting fact that the 
construction of the castle took place in three stages. 
It is hoped that this paper may help to prove the case for the various uses 
of aerial photography in the study of castles, and in similar archaeological 
research.