Aerial photographs of the landscape

Aerial Photographs

Aerial surveying can be applied to the discovery of archaeological sites. Aerial photography provides a useful supplement to observations made during fieldwork on visible sites with earthworks. You can compare both new and old photographs along side each other, to see if the feature has changed.

Our heritage is always changing. And air photographs have improved our knowledge as archaeologists to help safe guard sites at possible risk from harm. You may be unable to interpret a site from ground level, for example, a deserted medieval village. From the ground the village will look like humps and bumps caused by the foundations of the buildings. Also, some sites you may never see on the ground for example, soil marks of a former ring ditch or other archaeological features.

We can use two types of photographs, which are oblique and vertical that can be used to provide archaeological evidence, of new sites and prospecting Older sites of interest. During World War 2 aerial photographs were used to spy on enemy stores and troops. The vertical photographs provide a photographic map taken looking down over a piece of land. The oblique gives a birds eye view. Both are useful, oblique frequently shows sites in much more detail. The vertical photograph enables mapping of such features as ridge and furrow. It's not always easy to distinguish between archaeological features and natural geological phenomena; a thorough knowledge of archaeology is required for any attempt to classify and date sites according to their form.

Soil Marks are caused by deep ploughing of the soil. This mixes up the top soil and sub soil. However, not only deep ploughing causes this to happen building development as the top layer is stripped off.

Crop marks are produce by sites which are completely buried and which affect the growth of the crops growing above them. For example if crops above a wall have less soil and moisture, this would causes the crop to become stunted, while crops that grow in a ditch will be much taller due to the amount of moisture obtained

This picture shows the shadow marks of ridge and furrow. Shadow marks show up well in low sunlight especially in winter sunlight, or in the morning or evening when the sun is low in the sky. Shadow marks enhance the earthwork which can give very good archaeological information for example a deserted medieval village layout.

This is another air photograph showing outlines of a enclosed dating to iron age or roman period the left side earthwork is hard to tell what it really is but its certainly a man made feature and not a geographical one. 

This vertical air photograph clearly shows a hill somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales it possibility dates to the Bronze or Iron Age. Look at the houses and you can see what looks like medieval house plots. I have not seen the features on the ground but will try to do so sometime very soon.

Nice Bronze Age or Iron Age banjo enclosure never touch by anyone and I hope that this will still remain.  Will be visiting the site this year to have a good look around and to take some photographs as well, that will be place on the website.

This air photographs show strip ploughed into the hill side dating to the medieval period.

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