St Cuthbert's Hermitage, Inner Farne. Pic © English Heritage
Almost 1,000 new archaeological sites have been discovered along the north east coast of the UK following an aerial survey by English Heritage which took almost two years to complete.
Shipwrecks, wartime defences and remains of medieval salt factories were identified from more than 20,000 photographs taken over the 560 square kilometre area between Whitby and the Scottish border since March 2007.
Ryhope Battery in Sunderland. Pic © English Heritage
Dr Clive Waddington, from operators Archaeological Research Services, expressed his astonishment at the number of new sites found. “We’ve always known that the north east coastline is rich in archaeological sites, but we were really surprised at the number of new sites we found, and also the range and diversity of them,” he said.
“This survey has given us evidence for human activity in the region from prehistoric times right through to the modern day and helped us build up a much better picture of what activities have taken place along our coast over the last 10,000 years.”
Amble wrecks. Pic © English Heritage
The majority of the newly-recorded sites have wartime connotations, including a four-gun anti-aircraft battery at Ryhope in Sunderland and mounds of waste material from salt production at Hartlepool, one of Teeside’s founding industries.
The process also pinpointed the precise location of four wrecks on mud flats at Amble, in Northumberland, as part of several Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Surveys aiming to find out more about the historic environment of the English coastline.
David MacLeod, Senior Investigator with English Heritage's Aerial Survey team, explained that the survey aims to produce the most detailed picture yet of the threat posed to the nation by rising sea levels and coastal erosion. “Often it's only by looking at a site from the air that you start to understand its size and structure,” he explained.
“Historic sites along the coast are vulnerable to the effects of both natural coastal change and human activities. Although erosion has actually helped to reveal a number of nationally important sites along the North East coast, such as Bronze Age burial mounds at Low Hauxley in Northumberland, too often it poses a threat.
“This project will help us understand not just the history of our coastline, but also the dangers it faces now and in the future.”
The final results of the scheme, which are expected by the start of 2010, will allow decisions to be made about the best way to manage the coastline to preserve historical sites. A computer-generated map of the findings is now being formulated by experts at Durham University, creating a predictive tool to identify high-risk sites.
