Westmorland Dales Aerial Investigation and Mapping Project – Phase 1. Project 8499: Aerial investigation and mapping to enhance local authority Historic Environment Records and address research agendas
Author(s): Alfie Leek, Joel Goodchild, Miles Armstrong, Daniel Hunt
This report describes the methodology and discusses the results of the Westmorland Dales Aerial Investigation and Mapping Project. Archaeological features in the Eastern Westmorland Dales were mapped using aerial photographs and lidar imagery and completed to Historic England (HE) standards. The project was carried out by an Archaeological Research Services Ltd (ARS Ltd) aerial photograph interpreter, based with HE’s Aerial Investigation & Mapping Team (North) in York. The survey covered a total of 136 Ordnance Survey kilometre grid squares. This covers the northern portion of the Howgill Fells and the eastern end of the Eden Valley. The area has a high level of earthwork survival and a range of archaeological remains from the Neolithic through to the modern period. Neolithic remains, including two long cairns (and another possible example) and a causewayed enclosure are found on the areas of higher elevation, such as Asby Scar and Birkett Knott, along with Bronze Age cairns and field systems. There are also a number of Iron Age and Romano-British settlement sites which have been mapped within the project area, such as the Hunger Hills, Crosby Garrett and Castle Hills settlements. These tend to be located within areas which are currently privately owned agricultural land, in contrast to the surviving remains from earlier periods which are located predominantly on higher areas and common land. Much of the landscape in the valleys and around modern settlements displays evidence for medieval cultivation, with open field systems identifiable from the earthwork remains of ridge and furrow and plough headlands, as well as medieval settlements and the remains of three deer parks at Ravenstonedale, Wharton, and the Friths in Mallerstang. Defensive buildings from the medieval period, such as Pendragon Castle and Lammerside Castle have also been recorded. Post-medieval remains of field boundaries, ridge and furrow, limestone quarries and lime kilns are also common across the project area. Together, the results of the mapping project demonstrate consistent occupation from as early as the Neolithic. The main products of the project were digital transcriptions of the form and extent of archaeological features seen on aerial images and lidar with supporting descriptions in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) Historic Environment Record (HER). These are available through the HER and the Historic England Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer (https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/aerial-archaeology-mapping-explorer/ ).
- Report Number:
- 36/2024
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 82
- Keywords:
- Aerial Photograph Interpretation Aerial Photography Earthwork Mapping Aerial Investigation and Mapping
