CROP MARKS

[Bobj]

As the wet is about to start in earnest, I have taken up a new hobby for when it gets too soggy to tend the orchid collection. I have been perusing Google Maps, looking for English crop marks. Quite interesting finding them and noting them down. So, @chesters1 have a squiz at these, then sharpen the shovel, charge the battery on your pinger and off you go...

1. Crow Marsh...51.566926, -1.121474

2. Abingdon...51.64005, -1.2849652

3, Ropsley & Humby...52.901320, -0.501733

4. Moor Ditch...51.63769, -1.22687

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Bobj

[Ken L]

As I recall, this pretty much started in 1976, with the hot, dry summer and increasingly accessible private aviation. A bunch of ancient sites were discovered that year.

 

[chesters1]

On 1/9/2022 at 8:43 AM, Ken L said:

As I recall, this pretty much started in 1976, with the hot, dry summer and increasingly accessible private aviation. A bunch of ancient sites were discovered that year.

 

First one was recorded in 1590 its not a new thing all thats new is the WWW showing them ,the luftwaffe photos of britain shows lots

Anyway crop marks (not all grass is a crop) can lead to archeological  sites but i noticed myself one on a nearby field which was perfectly round about the size of a bronze age hut was infact a circle a horse made being exercised on a lunge rein. old paths last for hundreds of years ,generally light covered shapes show walls dark show where walls (or paths) were .Another asset is lidar but to date i have not found a side by side map making it easier to use .

Here some ,its not the best of sites!

https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map/?ref=SU87384358

Theres a woman who used sat images to spot ancient sites in Egypt ,bloody place must have been full theres millions!

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/space-archaeologist-sarah-parcak-winner-smithsonians-history-ingenuity-award-180961120/

I remember a trip to menerbes on the jet looking down seeing unmistakable roman villas scattered about ,i wished i could parachute down and investigate them but my detector was only half made back home (1975) unfortunately it could only find manhole covers at 2"

The conditions here to show them are not easy to find in google earth ,its best in very dry weather and with the sun at an acute angle for the humps and dips so some on some years could disapear or appear depending

I had always wondered why a nearby lane suddenly stopped but right opposite was a field gate ,roads (especially 'green' lanes ,this one is called that) dont stop or go off on tangents for no reason so i investigated) luckily i can detect in that field and it was obvious to me the lane carried on by the finds ,i found some old maps and there was the track in 1873 carrying on then curving round joining what is now the islamabad drive and going off to meet a lane coming up from the village ,in 1893 the lane moved across the field (as did where it met the other lane from one side of tilhill farm to the other) and met sheephatch lane ,an easier path so green lane stopped where it is now and was tarmacked and is still in use today.You can follow it for miles up through crooksbury common showing its a very old most probably a drove road avoiding steep hills. Despite the notion England especially is far from natural most of what you see is as far from nature as you can amagine ,everything you see has human management of some sort or other ,and its remarkable just how far back  things go in the country ,a thin footpath near stockbridge pond was the main road from the village until the mid 18th century "stockbridge" pond gives it away ,what was the bridge is now a few concrete pipes but its the only route avoiding the river the now main road was far to steep back then ,you can see other paths also avoiding the slopes still used as foot or bridal paths a mere shadow of what they were back then

Edited January 14, 2022 by chesters1

[corydoras]

I was going to suggest bleach, then I realised the topic was Crop Marks