Dartmoor and Upper Plym Valley. Aerial monitoring of scheduled monuments on the English Heritage Estate
Author(s): Katy Whitaker, Olaf Bayer
The Dartmoor and Upper Plym Valley: aerial monitoring of scheduled monuments on the English Heritage Estate project was designed to develop methods and provide baseline data to the English Heritage Trust to enable assessment of change over time using aerial sources. This work was carried out on scheduled monuments and other archaeological features within four guardianship sites on Dartmoor, Devon. These were: Grimspound, Merrivale Prehistoric Settlement, Hound Tor Deserted Medieval Village and the Upper Plym Valley. The methods devised will be used alongside other approaches to ensure that these nationally important monuments continue to be managed, conserved and presented for the benefit of the public. A summary of the technical specification and methods used to capture and process new aerial imagery for monitoring purposes is given in the report. Historic England aerial investigation methods were applied to new imagery, archive aerial photographs and airborne laser scanning datasets (lidar) to create baseline archaeological mapping. This is the first record of the form and extent of archaeological monuments within the guardianship sites to benefit from the spatial accuracy afforded by precisely geo-located aerial sources. The report provides an overview of the management and research histories of the four guardianship sites; a summary of key aerial investigation and mapping findings; and aerial imagery documenting aspects of vegetation history and erosion at the guardianship sites during the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Report Number:
- 36/2023
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 69
- Keywords:
- Bronze Age Charcoal Medieval Neolithic Post Medieval Settlement Field System Aerial Photography Archaeology Aerial Investigation and Mapping
