Major Partnership To Uncover More History Of The Yorkshire Wolds
A new project will help reveal the history and heritage of one of the country’s most significant historical landscapes. The project looking at the archaeology of the Yorkshire Wolds, a chalk upland in East and North Yorkshire, includes mapping archaeology from thousands of aerial photographs, drone laser surveys, geophysics and earthwork surveys.
Historic England has awarded a grant of £136,356 to York Archaeology to deliver the project alongside Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and other partners, including local volunteer-based groups.
Covering an area of more than 170km2, the Wolds project includes parts of the most northerly chalk stream in Europe and has been a focus for human settlement and ritual activity since the prehistoric period.
The project is open to people who would like to learn more about the heritage of the Wolds and the ways in which archaeologists discover and understand historic landscapes.
The culmination of the project will see this new, updated information more publicly accessible through a digital portal so that communities on and around the Wolds can explore the heritage on their doorstep.
York Archaeology is an educational charity that works throughout the country, with expertise in helping the public understand the stories revealed through archaeology.
Its trained teams will be supporting members of the public to explore some of the key skills that are employed to reveal hidden history, from aerial mapping and environmental sampling to earthwork surveys.
They will be supported by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which will be running skills workshops on identifying the flora and fauna of the Wolds and how to survey them, to help communities restore and re-imagine their local wild spaces for wildlife.
The Yorkshire Wolds has a very distinctive landscape and a unique heritage, and this project will help unveil more of its past and how the land has been used for thousands and thousands of years.
From what we already know from previous and current research, we are expecting to discover significant settlements ranging from the later prehistoric period right through to the 20th century.
But this project is not just about archaeology. We are working with a range of organisations and local groups to understand what the Wolds mean to the people and communities who live and work here.
We know historic places are vital for mental health and wellbeing, and we want this project to help pass on the skills and knowledge to local people to be able to understand and embrace their local environment.
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