TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents.................................................................................i List of Figures ................................................................................... vi Abbreviations...................................................................................viii Welcome to the Woodland Archaeology Project ........................................... 3 What is Woodland Archaeology? ............................................................... 5 Aim of the Woodland Archaeology Project................................................... 7 Scope of the Woodland Archaeology Project ................................................ 9 About the Handbook............................................................................11 Who can Volunteer? ............................................................................13 Scope of the Woodland Surveys...............................................................15 • Important Considerations ............................................................15 o Timing ..........................................................................15 o Finding Artefacts ..............................................................15 o Scheduled Ancient Monuments..............................................16 Planning the Project............................................................................17 • Deciding on a Wood and Getting Permission for Access..........................17 Health & Safety .................................................................................19 • Risk Assessment ........................................................................19 o Lone Working ..................................................................20 o Potential Hazards .............................................................20 o Cuts and Abrasions ............................................................20 o Tripping and Falling...........................................................21 o Tetanus .........................................................................21 o Weil’s Disease .................................................................21 i o Ticks and Lyme’s Disease ....................................................21 o Bites and Stings................................................................21 Preliminary Historical Work ...................................................................23 • Historical Maps and Documents ......................................................23 o Domesday ......................................................................23 o Victoria County Histories.....................................................23 • Historical Maps .........................................................................23 o Air Photographs................................................................24 o Sites & Monuments Records & Historic Environment Records ..........24 o Tips for using County Record Offices.......................................25 o Tips for Working with Historical Maps and Documents ..................25 Historical Woodland Management and Archaeological Features .........................27 Recognising Trees Modified by Traditional Practices ......................................28 o Pollards .........................................................................28 o Stubbed Trees .................................................................28 o Coppice .........................................................................29 o Outgrown Hedges .............................................................29 • Archaeological Features in Woodland...............................................29 o Ponds............................................................................29 o Saw Pits.........................................................................30 o Quarries and Other Pits ......................................................30 o Bomb Craters ..................................................................30 o Charcoal Hearths ..............................................................30 o Mounds..........................................................................30 o Wood Boundary Earthworks..................................................31 o Parish Boundary Earthworks .................................................32 o Park Pales ......................................................................32 ii o Pre-Woodland Earthworks ...................................................32 o Lynchets .......................................................................33 o Holloways or Sunken Tracks .................................................33 o Land Drains.....................................................................34 o Military, Industrial and Settlement Sites ..................................34 The Basic Techniques ..........................................................................37 • Using Ordnance Survey Maps .........................................................37 • Using the Compass for taking Bearings .............................................38 • Paced Measurements ..................................................................39 Starting the Fieldwork .........................................................................41 • Risk Assessment ........................................................................41 • Basic Equipment........................................................................41 • Setting up the Runs ....................................................................41 • The Recording Forms ..................................................................43 • Taking the Bearings from the Run ...................................................43 • Locating and Recording Archaeological Features .................................44 • The Compartment Ecological Record ...............................................47 The Survey Plan and Report ...................................................................49 • Drawing-up the Survey Plan ..........................................................49 o Drawing-up on to the OS Site Map ..........................................49 o Drawing-up using Drafting Film .............................................50 • The Project Report ....................................................................51 • The Project Archive ...................................................................52 • Dissemination of the Project Results................................................52 Ecological Surveying............................................................................53 Plant Species Check List .......................................................................55 Where do our Woods Come From?............................................................57 iii • Definition of a wood...................................................................57 • Wiping the slate clean ................................................................57 • Return of the trees ....................................................................57 • Stability .................................................................................58 • Arrival of man ..........................................................................59 • First signs of management............................................................59 • The clearances .........................................................................60 • Retrenchment ..........................................................................61 • Saxon landscape........................................................................61 • Population increase....................................................................62 • Changing fashions in trees ............................................................63 • Plantations ..............................................................................63 • The Forestry Commission .............................................................64 • The end of woodmanship .............................................................64 • The future...............................................................................64 • Sources ..................................................................................65 Ecological Recording? ..........................................................................67 • The surveying process .................................................................67 • Plotting the results ....................................................................68 • Interpreting the results ...............................................................68 • The importance of soils and their modification ...................................69 • Veteran trees, ancient pollards and coppice stools...............................70 • Badger setts.............................................................................71 • Presenting the results .................................................................71 • Presenting the archive ................................................................71 Ancient Woodland Indicator Species .........................................................73 Appendices.......................................................................................77 iv • Appendix I: Further Reading .........................................................79 o Health & Safety o Guides to Survey Methods, Report Preparation and Project Archiving