Our Farm Heritage
A team of trained volunteers, led by Iron Age (Nidderdale) Community Archaeology Group, carried out landscape surveys on a farm-by-farm basis over 1080 hectares, bringing this information together with documentary research to help tell the story of the Upper Nidderdale landscape through time.
In the field, the team recorded features, noting their position using hand-held GPS units. This information was then uploaded to GIS software to enable the team to interrogate the survey data and to look for patterns. A series of Guidance Sheets for the project can be found in the Resources section.
As a result of the survey, features were identified for further investigation and small-scale excavations were carried out during 2017 and 2018. The results proved to be regionally significant, with an emerging story of life in Nidderdale during the Late Iron Age / Romano-British period, some 1,800 years ago. The excavation report is available to download here: 500 Years of Continuity and Change.
A booklet has also been produced that not only provides a summary of the work, but also an overview of the changing landscape of Upper Nidderdale and introducing the reader to what to look for in the landscape. Reading the Upper Nidderdale Landscape is available to buy from Nidderdale Plus, Pateley Bridge: £6.50 (proceeds to Iron Age (Nidderdale) Community Archaeology Group) or can be downloaded for free here.
Individual land managers were provided with reports on the work carried out on their land, and the results were discussed with each of them. It is hoped that the results of this project will inform future heritage conservation and assist land managers in understanding and protecting the heritage features on their land.