Public help needed for archaeology project covering South Downs National Park

A large swathe of ancient woodland in West Sussex remains unexplored by researchers.

The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) is looking for volunteer archaeologists and historians to help unlock the clues to what may have happened beneath this landscape.

The area is famous for Iron and Bronze Age monuments such as Cissbury Ring near Lancing, but a large central part of the park lies under forests or woodland, meaning little has been discovered.

The help needed will come from local archaeologists, landowners and community groups to investigate these sites and find out more as part of a project called the Secrets of the High Woods.

Rebecca Bennett, who manages the project, said: “This is a unique opportunity to help unlock the secrets underneath these ancient woods.

“There are a few archive aerial photos of this area, capturing a tantalising glimpse of features revealed by felling during the Second World War but there is so much we don’t know about the history of the people who have lived here over 6,000 years.

“We are looking to understand the human interaction with the landscape.

“What air photography shows us is the pieces where people have lived or farmed.”

The area of concentration runs from the River Arun to the A3 in Hampshire, some 300 sq km.

The SDNPA is focusing on the wooded area.

Rebecca said: “All this area that we think of as being wooded landscape has not always been that way.

“Back in the late Iron Age and Roman period it was farmed intensively. It was a totally different landscape.”

Even within living memory there have been huge changes, including deforestation in the Slindon estate by the Canadian Forestry Corps in the First World War.

A nearby Prisoner of War camp in Eartham Woods, near Fontwell Racecourse, had 300 German prisoners, who were roped into helping with lumber work.

As an example of the vast area being surveyed, the estate has layers of history dating back 6,000 years.

Quarries have been found in the woods dating back to the Middle Ages.

Before this a Roman road, Stane Street, ran via Eartham Woods to Glatting Beacon, near Arundel, 245 metres above sea level. The road linked Roman Chichester to London.

Earlier still, the SDNPA said there are signs of people before Roman times farming the site.

The evidence of this changing landscape comes from a laser survey carried out from the air using technology called lidar, which means Light Detection and Ranging.

The technology, pictured above, fires lasers into the ground from a plane which penetrate overgrowth and give researchers an image of what the surface looks like.

The thick woodland of West Sussex means a standard aerial survey is impossible.

This historic environment has been preserved – trees mean a lack of ploughing.

The SDNPA said its lidar survey gave it a way to visualise the traces of past human interaction with the landscape, through settlements, farming or industrial activities.

Rebecca said: “This technology has revolutionised what we have seen.

“It allows us to take away the wooded vegetation to see what humps and bumps lie underneath.

“What we want the community to do is help us to interpret that data.”

Collecting the lidar data is just the start of the process, with volunteer field surveying and archival research necessary to verify and enhance the results.

Secrets of the High Woods is led by the SDNPA in partnership with Chichester District Council and supported by West Sussex and Hampshire county councils.

It has been made possible by a £661,800 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The SDNPA hopes the project will help it to better understand how human interaction with the landscape has changed over time.

But what are the possible outcomes from the project?

The lidar data analysed will be transferred to historic environment records with a report comparing the lidar information with other sources of archaeological data and forming the basis for further research.

The data takes the form of computer-generated images of landscapes and sites identified by the project.

It will also aid talks, walks and a travelling exhibition which will tour in and beyond the project area.

Schools and colleges will also benefit from learning resources drawn from the project and the project plans to produce an e-book, DVD, web content and leaflets.

Training also extends to volunteers of the SDNPA.

At its conclusion, there will be a conference to share the results with peers and people in the community.

Long-term the legacy aims for improved management of forests where historic features have been discovered.

Cambodia’s Angkor – a forgotten city

To uncover the lumps and bumps of ground beneath the dense woodland of Sussex, the Secrets of the High Woods project has used the same airborne laser technology that recently uncovered the mysteries of an ancient city called Angkor in Cambodia.

The remains of the vast city, pictured, lay deep in the jungle, hidden for centuries.

The technology revealed its secrets, including an elaborate network of temples and boulevards.

The largest temple, Angkor Wat, constructed in about 1150, remains the biggest religious complex on Earth, covering an area four times the size of the Vatican City.

These buildings attract two million tourists a year and take pride of place on Cambodia’s flag.

Argus features writer Dominic Smith explored Angkor earlier this year.

He said: “I’ve travelled all over the world and nothing prepares you for the scale and intricate detail sculpted into the stones of Angkor. There are scores of temples – some with giant, gnarled trees growing in between the walls.

“The site and number of ruins are so large you need a tuktuk to visit every temple.

“I went in the morning as the sun was rising. There is something heavenly about the moment nature gradually reveals one of man’s greatest achievements – and once it’s in the daylight the questions soon arrive: How did the ancient Khmers conceive such a monument? How could it have been hidden for so long?

“If something a hundredth of the scale of Angkor was discovered in Sussex, it would be a find indeed.”

Dominic followed in the footsteps of French explorer Henri Mouhot who, in 1858, sailed from London to south-east Asia.

For the next three years he travelled widely and wrote about vast jungle temples.

In the 1860s Angkor Wat was virtually unheard of beyond local monks and villagers. It is thought the great temple was once surrounded by a city of nearly one million people.

The city was uncovered in more than a century of archaeological fieldwork, but it was not until last year that a team from the University of Sydney mapped out 370 sq km site in detail using laser technology.

How you can get stuck in

The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) has thrown out an invitation for people to become “an Indiana Jones of the South Downs”.

Unlike the silver screen legend, intrepid researchers will not be confronted with snake pits, tribal rituals, giant tarantulas or chilled monkey brains in their pursuit of history.

The SDNPA has said there are two key ways to get involved with the West Sussex project.

The first is the muddy boots approach, getting out into nature and documenting the landscape.

The second is doing archival research and going through the records of how the landscape has been used at the West Sussex Records Office or the Hampshire Records Office.

Rebecca Bennett, who manages the project, said: “People can pick and choose – there is quite a bit that people can do without even leaving their own homes. Ultimately, we are just a bit nosy really.”

She said the volunteer involvement helps the SDNPA build a wider community engagement.

The SDNPA is currently recruiting and training volunteers to work with it for the next two years.

It needs more than 1,600 days of volunteer time but the number of volunteers depends on how much time each person is able to give.

No previous experience is needed as training will be provided and volunteers can choose from hands-on site work, archive research or collecting stories from local people.

If you are interested, the SDNPA holds an open day on November 8 at the South Downs Centre in Midhurst.

It runs from 10am until 3pm and the address is Memorial Hall, South Downs Centre, Midhurst GU29 9LU.

The first forays begin shortly afterwards and continue for up to two years. Alternatively, find out more by visiting www.southdowns.gov.uk/highwoods.