Christopher Carey

Archaeological resource modelling in temperate river valleys: a case study from the Trent Valley, UK

Methods for mapping and determining the condition of archaeological resources while they are still underground have been in development for nearly half a century. The authors here offer an example from the frontiers of the art: the application of a package of remote sensing procedures not only designed to locate sites but to model the valley deposits which contain and cover them. The variation in success of different methods in different deposits offers a guide to the design of evaluation projects on sand and gravel terrain everywhere.

Preserving the Legacy of Historic Metal-Mining Industries in Light of the Water Framework Directive and Future Environmental Change in Mainland Britain: Challenges for the Heritage Community

Abstract Contemporary global metal mining is a source of environmental pollution, but in Britain it is our historic mining industry that has left a legacy of contamination in the landscape, around both the immediate mine sites as well as within the river valley floors that drain these orefields. It has been estimated that the levels of lead and zinc stored within some northern British river systems represent values comparable to present-day reserves of economically viable ore deposits and exposure to them can be detrimental to human health. Despite the prevalence and significance of these deposits, they have been neglected by the cultural heritage community in favour of more easily interpretable remains such as mine buildings, technologies of ore procurement and processing, and the final products of manufacture. This paper argues that in light of future climate change and legislation associated with the European Union Water Framework Directive, heritage managers and industrial archaeologists have to start investigating these deposits as part of their studies and to engage with the environmental science and geomorphological communities who are, at present, setting the agenda in terms of strategies for pollution mitigation and landscape remediation.

Delivering the Benefits of Aggregates Levy Sustainability Funded Research on River Valley Archaeological Sites in the Severn-Wye Catchment, UK

Abstract The recently published Mineral Extraction and Archaeology: A Practice Guide (English Heritage, 2008) identifies the use of geomorphological mapping and specialist remote sensing technologies allied to other techniques as important tools for use in the investigation of deeply buried archaeological sites. Such approaches are particularly valuable within environments like river valleys where prospection is particularly difficult due to the masking effect of alluvium; however, some of these techniques are unproven in several major river catchments where aggregate extraction is significant and they have yet to be widely integrated in commercial practice as part of the planning process. Methodological approaches using these techniques have largely been developed since 2002 through a number of research projects supported by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) and English Heritage. They focus on enhancing understanding of the geoarchaeological and chronological development of river valley floors and thus the environment(s) within which archaeological sites have developed and are preserved. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-derived digital terrain modelling supported by information from other sources is used to map landform units (terraces, palaeochannels, terrace ‘islands’ and edges, etc.) within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. The high horizontal and vertical resolution of LiDAR allows microtopography to be mapped and this is often indicative of sub-surface geomorphological structures. In conjunction with historic environment record (HER) derived data this allows the macro- and micro-topography, relative chronology, and likely archaeological resource of key landform units to be modelled more accurately than has been previously possible. This enables areas of different archaeological potential to be highlighted, thus enabling more tightly focused, evidence-based evaluation and mitigation strategies to be developed. Other approaches such as specialist geophysical survey and, where organic material is sparse, the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating can also be integrated to great effect to test the chronostratigraphic models produced. The use of this new ‘toolkit’ has a particularly high potential for application within large-scale, mineral extraction developments in river valleys, supporting the delivery of knowledge-based and proportionate projects at both pre- and post-determination stages as recommended in the minerals practice guide. This article focuses on a recent ALSF supported research project in the Lower Severn Valley which has tested the effectiveness of elements of the ‘toolkit’ within this major river catchment. This is accompanied by a case study of an evaluation undertaken in the Lugg Valley, a tributary of the River Wye in Herefordshire. This employed many of these techniques and provides one of the first examples of a commercially driven project where the considerable benefits of this approach to both archaeological curators and developers have been realized.

New Approaches to Mapping and Managing Palaeochannel Resources in the Light of Future Environmental Change: A Case Study from the Trent Valley, UK

Abstract Abandoned river channels may provide rich primary sources of palaeoenvironmental and cultural information elucidating landscape evolution, climate change, vegetation history and human impact, especially since the beginning of the Holocene epoch. However, although potentially an important resource, palaeochannels are not often recorded systematically and only rarely enjoy robust statutory protection (in the UK as Sites of Special Scientific Interest). In consequence, it is challenging to mitigate and manage this important geoarchaeological resource effectively within the UK planning framework. Whilst palaeochannels have long been recognised on aerial photographs and historic maps, the advent of airborne laser scanning (Lidar) and other remote-sensing technologies has provided a hitherto unforeseen opportunity to record such landforms and related features at a catchment scale. This paper provides a case study from the Nottinghamshire reach of the Trent Valley, where a desk-based methodology that is now being extended across the entire catchment has been developed for recording, geospatially locating and defining the attributes of observed palaeochannels. After outlining the methodology, we consider how this approach to resource management can aid archaeological research and future heritage management, especially in the light of predicted climate and environmental change.