Terrestrial Mineral Resource Assessment: Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes
Museum of London Archaeology, Buckinghamshire County Council, Milton Keynes Council, 2014. https://doi.org/10.5284/1028831. How to cite using this DOI
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This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
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Bowsher
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- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1028831
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This document details a project undertaken by Museum of London Archaeology and Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) and Milton Keynes Council (MKC), as part of the Terrestrial Minerals Resource Assessment (TMRA) administered by English Heritage. The aim of the project was to map past, current and future mineral extraction areas in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes; enhance HER data within such areas that includes a statement of significance for undesignated assets; analyse heritage assets that have been lost to past minerals extraction, along with the likely impact of future extraction in relation to asset significance, type, period and character; and use the data and research agenda as a framework for analysing and reporting the results, trends of loss and enhancements to current understanding of past human activity. The project also provides an assessment of the impact of mineral extraction on the historic environment in a quantifiable and systematic manner.
The minerals resource was identified from British Geological Survey mapping; extraction shown on historic maps and the British Pits database; and past, current and the future mineral extraction information supplied by BCC. Five study areas were identified, in consultation with BCC and MKC: the Thames Valley, the Buckinghamshire Ouse Valley, the Thames Valley, the Milton Keynes Ouse Valley and the Chiltern Brickpits.
The project entailed enhancing the Historic Environment Record (HER) with archaeological data from the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) database managed by English Heritage. The data was then modified by assigning consistently a chronological period to each asset along with an asset type (e.g. industrial, domestic, defence) as well as asset significance (very high, high, medium, etc.). The enhanced and updated project database was used to generate asset density figures and distribution maps for an archaeological resource assessment, in order to identify for the first time any patterns in human activity across the mineral producing areas.
Some clear patterns in the asset densities of different periods were revealed. There was a general trend in asset densities increasing towards the later period. The Prehistoric periods saw fluctuations in asset densities, with decreases in the Mesolithic and Bronze Age periods. Asset densities increased significantly in the Roman period for all of the study areas followed by a large decrease in the Early Medieval period. This either reflected a bias for the recording of Roman finds and/or a lower level of survival of early medieval remains due to their often organic nature or through removal by development in subsequent periods.
The variety in asset types within the study areas also increased towards the later periods. The Prehistoric periods were generally dominated by finds while the following periods saw an increase in settlement, agriculture, industrial and funerary/religious/ecclesiastical activity. The Post-Medieval and Modern periods were mostly dominated by industrial and/or military assets reflecting the development of industry (including the increase in mineral extraction) and the cultural values within 20th century military sites and commemorative monuments.
Overall, of the five study areas, the Milton Keynes Ouse Valley had the highest asset density for the majority of periods. The Chiltern Brickpits had the highest asset density for the Post-Medieval and Modern period, reflecting the historic significance of the area in the extraction of clay.
It should be noted that asset density to a large extent reflects current understanding based on the level of past archaeological investigation, and generally lower density areas may be currently less well understood archaeologically than high density areas.
As part of the Terrestrial Minerals Resource Assessment a pilot study was undertaken to examine into the potential environmental effects of quarrying on above ground heritage assets. A study area around Olney in Milton Keynes District was selected. Within this study area, a theoretical quarry location and haulage routes were located in order to create a broad range of potential âissuesâ in relation to above ground assets, including both physical and non-physical impacts. The results of this pilot study are available as appendix in the main report.
