A colour aerial view of earthworks in a rocky moorland landscape.
Oblique aerial photograph showing the earthwork remains of prehistoric settlement at Smardale Gill (28514_042) 11-MAR-2014. © Historic England
Oblique aerial photograph showing the earthwork remains of prehistoric settlement at Smardale Gill (28514_042) 11-MAR-2014. © Historic England

Current Aerial Investigation Projects

Here you can find an overview of research projects currently being carried out by our aerial investigation team.

South-West Suffolk Claylands 

The project will investigate a landscape where aerial photography has traditionally been viewed as unproductive, due to the low incidence of cropmark formation on clay soils, but where recent aerial reconnaissance has been changing this perception.

Huntingdonshire 

The aerial survey will map and record new and known sites in an area south of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where large-scale strategic housing allocation has been proposed, along with significant transport infrastructure upgrades and environmental threats. 

Yorkshire Wolds 

In the context of the proposed National Landscape designation, this project is re-evaluating part of the Yorkshire Wolds, originally mapped from aerial photographs in the late 1980s, using modern methods, sources and archaeological scope. 

Westmorland

This well-preserved archaeological landscape with later prehistoric, Romano-British, medieval and post medieval remains is facing new challenges due to changes in farming practice, the national response to mitigating climate change and visitor recreation.

North-West Norfolk

The project seeks to enhance knowledge and understanding of the historic environment in an area that has seen relatively little archaeological investigation and for which there is currently a low density of recorded sites.

Results of previous projects

Name and role
Name

Simon Crutchley

Title and organisation
Remote Sensing Development Manager at Historic England
Details
Description
Simon is a landscape archaeologist and air photo interpreter with over 30 years’ experience of mapping and interpreting features of archaeological and historical interest visible on aerial photos and other aerial imagery.

Archaeological Investigation