The archaeological risks
associated with mineral extraction on the margins of the Vale of Pickering are
considerable and include both direct and indirect threats. For
instance, the effects of draw-down and de-watering which can lead to desiccation and
loss of important environmental evidence within a few hundred metres of an
extraction site. It is clear from the field-by-field
research within the project area that there are effectively few fields between
the southern boundary of the ancient wetlands which filled the centre of the
Vale of Pickering, and the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds that are without
significant archaeological components.
The fieldwork has demonstrated
that there are a number of areas
where a responsible response to the recording and removal of the
archaeological component ahead of mineral extraction could compromise the
profitability of an extraction programme but there are other areas where the
economic and archaeological impact would be considerably lower. For example,
to the north of the fen-edge
spring-line, which bisects the area from east to west, are large areas of sand and gravel with a relatively
low archaeological component. This has already become severely denuded as
consequence of modern agricultural techniques and the loss of peat deposits.
It is absolutely clear that
the archaeological evidence of human activity in this landscape, and elsewhere
in Britain, reflects a correlation between the presence of the light sands and
gravels sought by the minerals extraction industry and early human settlement.
The archaeological resource is finite and fragile, in the case of Heslerton it
is often unusually well preserved, and whilst it is clear that the density of
activity is far higher than had been anticipated any temptation to moderate
the
response to mineral extraction and other threats because ‘there is a lot
there’ would be a gross and fundamental error.
This research project is
concerned with identifying the density, level of preservation, chronological
and cultural diversity of the archaeological resource. The project has
combined geophysical and airborne survey, to map the resource, and sub-surface
survey, to identify those areas with securely sealed deposits or those with
high environmental potential. The results of the survey have been compiled
into the most detailed archaeological map for its size of any landscape in
Britain.
The project has produced a
wealth of new evidence, offering an almost unlimited research potential; to
gain a detailed understanding of what has been discovered will however take
years of careful and targeted excavation and research. Some aspects of the
research, particularly the search for well preserved and wet environmental
evidence, principally ancient pollen and plant remains, has produced
disturbing results; the combination of drainage and possibly draw-down
associated with Cook's Quarry has caused desiccation with the
consequent decay of this fragile evidence. It is extremely unlikely that any well
preserved environmental evidence of this type will survive beyond 2010.
The product of this research
is a dynamic data set covering nearly 400 Hectares. This data set provides the basis for
developing archaeological mitigation strategies for mineral extraction in the
area. It will also assist in the development of broader development control
strategies and provide a basis for the development of a
management plan to develop public access. If we are to preserve the resource
through sustainable aggregates extraction then we have an obligation to share
the ‘preserved’ resource. In contrast to conventional publication this
project relies on digital publication using a web-browser and portable
document files (PDF) so that access to the data does not require specialist
software. The key results of the project are held in a vast data set of image
files and surface models, comprising nearly 3Gb of data, which would require both sophisticated software and
users for day to day manipulation; the information they contain has been
condensed into a series of overlay maps that allow the user to view the data
in a number of different ways.
This project has
provided the
base data set required to develop long term sustainability and management of
the archaeology of the area and the basis for predictive modelling and
assessment as new areas come under threat from mineral extraction. It has also
addressed important issues with regard to archaeological assessment
methodologies when applied to landscapes where blown sands make conventional
assessment methods highly unreliable.
Seeing the results of this project
combined with the other geophysical surveys already undertaken by the LRC
prompted David Miles, Chief Archaeologist for England, to state the 'the buried
landscape of Heslerton is every bit as important as Stonehenge'.
To
learn about this project in more detail, please click on any of the following
links:
[ Context ] [ Objectives ] [ Methodology ] [ Discoveries ] [ Credits ]
