Thousands of ancient monuments have been identified by amateur archaeologists: “We are absolutely delighted”

Involving non-professionals in the search for antiquities has yielded amazing results

Amateur archaeologists have identified thousands of ancient monuments in England. Bronze Age ruins and Roman roads are among 12,802 sites discovered using the latest technology.

Photo: uk.coop

Bronze Age burial mounds, Roman roads and abandoned medieval villages are among nearly 13,000 previously unknown ancient sites and monuments that have been discovered by members of the public in recent months, to be announced this week.

According to The Guardian, truck drivers and doctors are among more than 1,000 people who took part in Deep Time, a “citizen science project” that brought together hobbyists to collect 512 square meters of Earth observation data. km (200 sq mi), including high-resolution satellite imagery and imagery using lidar laser technology.

Participants searched for ancient monuments in three different landscapes: the Peak District, covering Derbyshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire ; Wallington in Northumberland; and Purbeck and Studland in Dorset.

They discovered 262 possible Bronze Age burial mounds and three Roman roads, among other finds. The project is the result of a partnership between public archaeological enterprise DigVentures and the National Trust, which owns and manages large areas of these landscapes.

Maya Pina-Dassier, senior archaeologist at DigVentures, said: “We have received preliminary results and they are indeed impressive. Our citizen scientists – or “astronauts” as we call them, – identified 12,802 ancient sites and monuments that were previously unknown”.

Pina-Dassier says the discoveries were especially exciting because «it was all done in just three months and involved local, national and foreign citizens, many of whom had never done archeology before.»

Dr Brandon Wilkins, founder and co-director of DigVentures, said: “Thanks to our astronauts, we have been able to map much larger areas, in much greater detail and much faster than professional archaeologists could do alone. I am truly amazed by the scale of the objects discovered… Now we can go into the field with many of the participants who helped us find these objects… test them in the field and possibly excavate them. This is a prehistoric landscape that emerges from under the modern field system.

Founded in 2012, DigVentures promotes public participation in archeology. Thousands of people take part in its activities. Archaeologists are not disclosing the exact locations of the latest finds to prevent illegal excavations.

The project, which is funded by Innovate UK and Heritage Innovation, also addresses the impact of the climate crisis on our landscapes: “the relationship between our historic and natural environments habitat,» Wilkins said, noting that mapping archaeological and environmental “assets” can better plan reforestation efforts, for example, without damaging existing archaeology.

He added: “To achieve our targets, the UK needs to transform at least 700 sq. km of territory per year. Citizen science programs like these can directly support these efforts by helping to map and deepen our understanding of the landscapes in question before work begins. All three of the landscapes we looked at are already affected by climate change, and the National Trust is doing a lot of work in each of them to introduce nature restoration and landscape resilience measures, such as reforestation, coastal protection and carbon sequestration.

Tom Dommett, Head of Historic Environment at the National Trust, says: “Climate change is already affecting some of our most iconic landscapes and we are taking significant steps to make them more resilient. We are absolutely delighted with the huge collective effort that citizen scientists have put into this project to help us get more of this work done.”

The National Trust manages the 123 square meter site. km in the Peak District National Park, which has been inhabited since Mesolithic times. The search for archaeological remains, including Palaeolithic cave sites, is supporting plans to conserve and restore habitats to help slow the effects of climate change.

The Purbeck and Studland Mission area covers 35 square kilometres. km of National Trust land on the Isle of Purbeck, which was already known to be home to a huge variety of ancient sites and unique habitats now vulnerable to rising sea levels and rapid coastal erosion.

Dr. Martin Papworth, an archaeologist at the National Trust for the South West, warned that the coastal monuments would disappear in «just 30 years», meaning monitoring and management of the area is critical. This project involved identifying previously unknown objects before they are lost.