Local archaelogical project gets funding boost

I was delighted to hear that Gloucestershire amateur archaeologists will get £12,000 grant towards their LIDAR project - this is something I have supported - see more on previous blogs here including it's use in Whiteshill, Ruscombe and Randwick. Below is how the SNJ reported it yesterday....

Photo: Painswick Beacon taken from SNJ site

AMATEUR archaeologists will be able to make new discoveries in the Stroud district by using cutting edge technology to look through dense woodland thanks to a £12,000 Lottery grant.

Ancient earthworks, burial mounds and habitation sites, roadways and even Civil War emplacements are just some of the features that can potentially be revealed by the latest airborne laser technology called LIDAR. In the past, aerial photography has been a way of detecting features in the landscape but its weakness is its inability to see what lies beneath dense woodland. But LIDAR uses laser beams to detect and measure physical features on the ground covered by trees and undergrowth. Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group brings together amateur archaeologists with professionals at the County Archaeological Service and local heritage groups and individuals interested in archaeology.

The lottery funding, from the Awards for All scheme, means they can now use LIDAR to discover and research undetected features in Gloucestershire. A LIDAR survey covering certain parts of the county has recently been carried out and the data is now available for recording and interpretation. Parishes for which LIDAR data is available include Painswick, Woodchester, Cranham, Upton St Leonards and Standish.

Work is initially planned to concentrate on land belonging to National Trust. The grant will pay for the raw LIDAR data to be processed, for the equipment needed to assess the evidence on the ground and to provide training for volunteers. It will provide hands on experience in interpreting the LIDAR images and recognising and recording potentially interesting sites on the ground through a range of activities such as field-walking, geophysics and earthwork surveying and documentary research. Training and supervision will be provided in all the techniques required.

Anyone interested in being part of the group or for more information can contact either Tony Roberts at the County Archaeological Service on 01452 425705 or Ann Maxwell of GADARG on 01386 751662.