Funded by English Heritage under Objective 2 of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF), the Historic Environment Service of Cornwall Council, in partnership with Hampshire County Council’s Environment Department, have surveyed sample areas of Hampshire from aerial photographs to National Mapping Programme standards.
These provide information to inform decisions regarding strategic planning, management, and research of archaeological sites and historic landscapes in the aggregate producing areas of the county.
Hampshire Assessment of Archaeological Resource
The archaeological resource assessment was completed in two stages as part of English Heritage project number 4766. The assessment for the whole aggregate resource area was begun early in the project. NMP mapping of the pre-selected sub-units was undertaken simultaneously, and an updated assessment for each sub-unit produced once the mapping was completed.
The NMP sub-units covered parts of the Avon valley, East Hampshire, parts of the New Forest Coastal Plain, Upper and Lower Test valley, Hampshire Kennet valley and Blackwater catchment, Eastleigh and Southwick.
The project outcome includes the formulation of a Resource Assessment and Research Agenda for the aggregate landscape. These highlight gaps in knowledge of the archaeological resource, the research potential of the resource, and the identification of prioritised research topics. The agenda will feed into the regional Solent Thames Research Framework.
The project report is available on Archsearch the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) website.
New Forest and North West Solent coastal plain
This project continues the NMP work on aggregate producing areas in Hampshire and comprises an archaeological survey of the New Forest and North West Solent Coastal Plain. The NMP survey is based on a review of all available aerial photographs and Environment Agency LiDAR data. The project is also ALSF funded under English Heritage Project Number 5783.
The survey area for the project will include the western banks of Southampton Water and the coastal fringe of the New Forest National Park. The western edge of the survey area joins up with the limit of previous NMP work at Lymington and the northern edge joins up with the limit of previous mapping at Totton. In total, this comprises an area covering 172 kilometre squares.
This phase of the project is due to complete in spring 2010 and the information gathered will be incorporated into Hampshire County Council’s Historic Environment Record and the New Forest National Park Authority’s GIS system. The project will provide enhanced baseline data essential for the development of effective management strategies in respect of the historic environment of the area.
The images used on this page are copyright English Heritage unless specified otherwise. For further details of any photographs or other images and for copies of these, or the plans and reports related to the project please contact the English Heritage Archive.
For further information on a project or any other aspect of the work of the Aerial Survey team please contact us via email using the link above.
