The Southern Regions
WORK CARRIED OUT IN THE SOUTH WEST, SOUTH EAST AND LONDON REGIONS
- Avebury WHS NMP
- Brendon Hills NMP
- Cornwall NMP
- Dartmoor NMP
- Exmoor National Park NMP
- Forest of Dean
- Frampton on Severn ALSF NMP
- Hampshire ALSF NMP
- Kent NMP
- Hampshire South Downs NMP
- Lambourn Downs NMP
- Leadon Valley ALSF NMP
- Mendip AONB NMP
- North Gloucestershire Cotswolds
- Quantocks NMP
- Salisbury Plain Training Area NMP
- Savernake Forest NMP
- Severn Estuary RCZAS
- Somerset ALSF NMP
- South Cotswolds NMP
- South Dorset Ridgeway NMP
- South Downs NMP
- Stonehenge NMP
- Thames Valley NMP
- Winkleigh Biomass NMP
National Mapping Programme (NMP) projects in progress
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The Exmoor National Park NMP project is designed to enhance the quality of archaeological information available to the National Park’s Countryside Archaeology Advisor (CAA) to inform her responses to a variety of land management consultations as well as providing general information on the remains within the park. -
The Hampshire South Downs NMP project is being carried out as part of English Heritage’s National Mapping Programme (NMP) covering that part of the proposed South Downs National Park that lies within the county of Hampshire. -
The South Dorset Ridgeway NMP project comprises an archaeological survey of the South Dorset Ridgeway based on a review of all available aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar derived imagery to assist with the implementation of the Dorset AONB Management Plan. -
The Mendip Hills AONB NMP project is part of a multi-disciplinary landscape based research project being carried out by various teams from within English Heritage, also including Archaeological Survey and Investigation and Architectural Investigation. The aim of the project is to enhance understanding of the historic environment of the Mendip Hills AONB. -
The aerial survey of the North Cotswolds is part of the broader programme of NMP mapping projects within Gloucestershire. Following the completion of the mapping and recording phase of the project the report will soon be available. -
The Savernake Forest NMP project is designed to examine aerial photographs of the Forest together with an analysis of lidar data provided by the Forestry Commission so as to record the archaeological remains within the woodland and in the surrounding farmland. -
The Somerset ALSF Project has been designed to look at the effects of aggregate extraction on the archaeology of the areas where it takes place. The results of the aerial survey will feed into a wider project carried out by Somerset County Council, looking at a number of different aggregate extraction areas in the county. -
The aerial survey of the South Cotswolds is part of a broader programme of mapping projects within Gloucestershire and has been designed to link up with previous projects, including the North Gloucestershire Cotswolds and the Upper Thames Valley. -
This National Mapping Programme (NMP) project is part of a wider multi-disciplinary programme of work being undertaken by English Heritage Landscape Investigation Team, Aerial Survey Team and the Centre for Archaeology designed to characterise the archaeology and historic buildings of the South Downs.
Completed National Mapping Programme (NMP) Projects
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An aerial survey of the area around the World Heritage Site incorporating the Neolithic Henge at Avebury carried out as part of English Heritage's National Mapping Programme. -
The Brendon Hills project was carried out in support of an extensive programme of field survey across Exmoor. The results of the project have been incorporated in the publication on The Field Archaeology of Exmoor. -
The Cornwall project, covering Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was one of the longest running projects under NMP having begun in January 1994. The project covered a wide range of sites ranging from prehistoric rounds to the remains of the tin industry. The results of the project are available through the Cornwall flyingpast website. -
The Dartmoor project was one of the first large areas surveyed using aerial photographs. -
The aerial survey of the Forest of Dean was part of the broader programme of NMP mapping projects within Gloucestershire. Following the mapping and recording phase of the project the report is now available. -
The Frampton on Severn ALSF project was carried out as part of the National Mapping Programme (NMP) funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). The overall aim of the project was to enhance the archaeological record of this area, which is rich in archaeological material but an area which has also seen extensive aggregate extraction. -
The Hampshire ALSF project also known as Hampshire - assessment of archaeological resource in aggregate areas (4766) recorded the archaeological remains in small sample areas within the county of Hampshire as part of the National Mapping Programme (NMP). The aim of the project was to facilitate decisions regarding strategic planning, management, preservation and research of archaeological sites and historic landscapes in the aggregate producing areas of the county. -
The Kent project was one of the four pilot projects for the National Mapping Programme (NMP). -
This project was designed to examine a distinct landscape block in the west of Berkshire, investigating both the upland of the Downs and its relationship with low lying sites in the Vale of the White Horse. -
The Leadon Valley Sand and Gravel Aggregates Area NMP project was undertaken to improve the amount and quality of archaeological information available for the potential aggregate producing area of the Leadon Valley. This allows for the provision of more informed advice regarding the archaeological impact of aggregate extraction.
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The Quantocks NMP project was part of a broader project carried out by English Heritage staff working closely with Somerset County Council, the AONB officer and the National Trust. -
The Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) Mapping Project was designed to examine the landscape of Salisbury Plain, a landscape that had been actively managed by the army for about 100 years. During this time most of the surrounding chalk upland had been subject to major agricultural activity that had levelled most archaeological remains. On Salisbury Plain in contrast remains from earliest prehistory survive as well preserved earthworks and the NMP project aimed to record not only the well known isolated features, but the landscapes in between. -
As part of a wider project an NMP project was set up to record all archaeological features visible on aerial photographs within the inter-tidal zone of the English side of the Severn estuary and to set this within the context of known archaeology in the immediately adjacent hinterland. -
The Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS) is one of the most heavily investigated landscapes in the world. In spite of this it was felt that there was still a lot to learn and it was necessary to have an accurate record of all archaeological activity within the WHS in advance of any works to be carried out with regard to a new visitor centre or changes to the roads in the area. -
The Thames Valley project was one of the four pilot projects for the National Mapping Programme (NMP). The Thames Valley was chosen because of the density of cropmark landscape and also the ongoing threat posed by aggregate extraction. -
This project was carried out over the planting catchment area for fuel crops to power the planned generator at Winkleigh, Devon. The entire catchment was 80km across and covered a large part of rural Devon, but this initial project examined four transects selected to provide a coherent sample of the various landscapes, soils and geologies within the wider catchment area as well as taking account of current and historical land use and Historic Landscape Character.
Detailed Survey Work and Flying
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English Heritage carries out a regular programme of flying from bases in the north of the country at York, and in the south at Kidlington, near Oxford. -
An aerial photographic survey was undertaken in conjunction with excavations by Professor Barry Cunliffe of Oxford University on the sites of two presumed Iron Age/Romano-British settlement enclosures (Rowbury Farm and Flint Farm) lying 3.5km to the northeast of Danebury, Hampshire as part of the Danebury Environs Programme. The survey was designed to set these excavations and preparatory geophysical prospection of the enclosure sites into a broader landscape context. -
The Hungerford Common project involved the interpretation, transcription and recording of all archaeological features visible on aerial photographs for two areas of common land in Hungerford - Hungerford Common and Freeman’s Marsh. -
The archaeological features around the Knowlton Circles henge complex were mapped from aerial photographs. A multi-period landscape was recorded, including Neolithic ceremonial and funerary monuments, Bronze Age round barrows, Iron Age or Roman boundaries and field systems and the ruins of a Medieval church. -
The Richborough Environs Project is part of a multi-disciplinary research project initiated by the English Heritage Centre for Archaeology at Portsmouth under Tony Wilmott. -
Just west of Winterbourne Stoke, in the small area of ground between the village of Winterbourne Stoke and the SSSI and Nature reserve of Parsonage Down, is a large enclosure of uncertain date. The site was investigated first by the aerial survey team of English Heritage and then Wessex Archaeology. -
Toddington Manor is located about 5 km to the north of Winchcombe, on the northern foothills of the Cotswolds, above the Vale of Evesham. The estate, founded before the Norman Conquest, remained in the hands of the Tracy family until the early 20th century. Today the core of the estate survives as a landscape park of 195 hectares, with a magnificent Gothic Revival mansion at its heart. Recent aerial photographic interpretation and mapping by the National Mapping Programme has recorded not only features associated with the Victorian development, but also traces of both earlier and later periods of Toddington’s history.
For further information on a project or any other aspect of the work of the Aerial Survey team please contact us at: AerialSurvey@english-heritage.org.uk.
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