Aerial Reconnaissance

  The English Heritage national programme of aerial reconnaissance aims to identify, record and monitor archaeological sites and landscapes throughout England.

Every year some 2000 sites are photographed, including monuments of all periods, from Neolithic long barrows to structures from the Cold War. Click on the map on the left for a larger image.

Local knowledge and archaeological experience are vital aids to successful reconnaissance and where possible English Heritage also provides grant aid to assist local fliers to operate.

Operating out of airfields near Oxford and York, aerial reconnaissance for archaeology is undertaken using high-winged Cessna 172 aircraft.

The aerial photographers have a wide ranging brief that serves the strategic objectives of national survey as well as allowing them the flexibility to respond to specific conditions in a given year. This year they have also provided hundreds of stunning aerial photographs for the new England’s Landscapes series.

To the left is the scheduled monument of the Iron Age fort at Arbury Banks in Northamptonshire. Ploughing has already destroyed the medieval ridge and furrow cultivation overlying it and is now cutting into the fort itself.

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.