Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Looking down on Roman Yorkshire: an aerial archaeologist’s view

Joint Lecture with the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Roman Antiquities Section

With Dave MacLeod, Operational Manager, Aerial Investigation and Mapping, English Heritage

As an archaeologist specialising in aerial survey, Dave MacLeod enjoys a privileged, if remote, perspective on the remaining traces of our complex, always fascinating and sometimes perplexing, landscapes of the past. As an archaeological prospection technique aerial survey has progressed from the early days of chasing Roman roads to becoming, arguably the most important contributor in the field of remote identification and interpretation of sites and landscapes. With reference to aerial images, and maps derived from their interpretation, Dave MacLeod will share his elevated (e.g. 2000 foot) perspective on what traces of Romanization can be found in Yorkshire’s varied landscapes.

Report
By Carole Smith

Aerial archaeologists claim no period specialism but use new technology, including digital cameras and LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensors to capture landscape features from Neolithic to Cold War times. Remote sensing devices and experience of observing crop markings and other physical features at certain times of year, or in drought conditions, are the key to interpreting often obscure results. In the many images shown, it could be seen that Roman features stand out by their forcible intrusion into or across a pre-existing landscape of fields and settlements. Roads appear as major features, as, mostly, do forts – sometimes from direct evidence, sometimes by inference from other features. Even much studied areas can reveal new sites, as spectacularly at Hadrian’s Wall, but sometimes expected visual material bafflingly fails to emerge despite the predictive evidence. This is the case with Roman villas in the Wolds, where excavations and geophysical sensing devices at ground level have sometimes uncovered remains, yet aerial photographs showing ladder settlements and field systems which suggest a focal building, can see no traces of them. Here, the foundations may be too similar to the underlying rock to be recognised by aerial photography.

Video

Looking down on Roman Yorkshire from Yorkshire Philosophical Society on Vimeo.