||
Forest of Dean Archaeological Survey
The Archaeology Service undertook an archaeological survey of the Forest of Dean from 2002-2007
The survey covered an extensive area of West Gloucestershire; comprising much of the area bounded by the rivers Wye and Severn.
The project was funded by a number of organisations, including English Heritage, The Countryside Agency, The Forestry Commission as well as Gloucestershire County Council.
Why was an archaeological survey of the Forest needed?
The Forest of Dean has fewer known archaeological sites for most periods than other parts of Gloucestershire. This has been recognised for some time but was highlighted by English Heritage's 'Monuments at Risk Survey' undertaken between 1994 and 1995, which provided a snapshot of known archaeological sites across the whole country and clearly identified the Forest as an area with a relatively low density of sites and monuments from the prehistoric, Roman and medieval periods.
Although independent organisations (such as Dean Archaeology Group) have carried out a considerable amount of work in the area, there had been relatively little large-scale and systematic exploration of the archaeological potential of the Forest of Dean - particularly where woodland restricted the use of techniques such as aerial photography, field walking or geophysical survey. The fact that these areas remain under-researched undoubtedly contributed to the relative lack of known archaeological sites.
All available project reports can be downloaded from the links below.
|
|
