Archaeological Cropmark Landscapes of the Magnesian Limestone
Ian Roberts, David Berg, Alison Deegan, 2010. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000131. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Archaeological Services WYAS unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Ian
Roberts
Principal Archaeologist
Archaeological Services WYAS
Nepshaw Lane South
Morley
Leeds
LS27 7JQ
UK
Tel: 0113 3939740
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 998
- ALSF Project Number: 3860
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000131
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
The project, funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund between March 2005 and March 2007, was devised to investigate the prehistoric and Romano-British archaeological landscapes of the eastern parts of South and West Yorkshire, including the adjacent parts of North Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire. In synthesising the various forms of available map-based archaeological evidence the project has specifically focused upon past, present and future aggregates extraction sites, the aggregates industry having an ironic duality in being one of the key agents in both the destruction and investigation of the archaeological landscape in the study area. Whilst the project axis is centred upon the Magnesian Limestone belt, the study also contrasts the archaeological landscapes of the adjoining geologies. As well as assessing the effect that the aggregates industry has had upon the archaeology of the study area, the project has provided an opportunity to redefine the baseline knowledge of the cropmark landscapes of the region and so enable future work to be carried out within a more informed archaeological research framework that can be articulated within revisions of local Minerals Local Plans and Unitary Development Plans.
The Study Area
The study area focuses upon the 65km length of Magnesian Limestone outcrop that runs along the A1 corridor from Wetherby, West Yorkshire in the north to Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the south, flanked to the west by the lower foothills of the Pennines and to the east by low river floodplains. The staggered area is between 20km and 30km wide covering a total area of 1,525 square kilometres, the area of 61 O.S. 1:10 000 scale quarter sheets. The area occupies parts of several districts included in the study: Selby DC in North Yorkshire, the eastern parts of Leeds CC and Wakefield MDC in West Yorkshire, parts of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley in South Yorkshire, and the northern part of Bassetlaw DC in Nottinghamshire
The Digital Archive
The digital archive held by the ADS consists of the following resources:
Final project report
N.B. Figures 7.2 - 7.31 contain 1:25000 mapping of HER data around quarry sites including known and potential archaeology finds spots with associated AP mapping. These figures are not included in the archive and the data has been excluded from the published report.
The Air Photo Mapping Project:
The air photo mapping element was carried out to EH's standard National Mapping Programme (NMP) specification by a small team of interpreters (Heather Adams, Cinzia Bacilieri, Matthew Oakey, Gemma Pallant, Sally Radford and Daniel van den Toorn, co-ordinated and supervised by Alison Deegan.) contracted by Archaeological Services WYAS (ASWYAS) and based with EH's Aerial Survey and Investigation team at Tanner Row, York.
Two-fifths of the county of South Yorkshire and smaller parts of North Yorkshire were surveyed to English Heritage's National Mapping Programme standards from existing air photographs. New National Monument Record entries were created for 717 monuments or monument groups and a further 263 amendments or enhancements were made to existing records.
The archive consists of the final CAD file (DXF) for the AP mapping, the mapping project report and the mapping event details.
The data in this archive formed the basis of the publication: Robert, I. with Deegan, A. and Berg, D., 2010, Understanding the Cropmark Landscapes of the Magnesian Limestone, ISBN 978 1 8704530 44 8.
