Discover Archaeology of Ilkley’s Middleton Woods

12th March 2018

If you dig archaeology or love Middleton Woods in Ilkley, there is a great opportunity to uncover its history this month.  The Celebrating Woodland Heritage Project is calling for volunteers to help with an archaeological survey on 17-20 March.  The project, run by Pennine Prospects, is one of a series of Woodland Archaeology Surveys across the South Pennines area, as part of a lottery funded project to  discover more about the hidden history of our region’s ancient woodlands. 

From carved Bronze Age cup and ring stones, relict field systems, old trackways, Romano-British settlement sites, Medieval veteran trees,  woodland boundaries, post-medieval cottage and mill sites, to First World War practice trenches, woodlands across the South Pennines preserve a palimpsest of human history that is waiting to be discovered and recorded.

Volunteers will work with the projects Woodland Heritage Officer, Chris Atkinson, and archaeology students to investigate the woodlands on foot, using old maps and Lidar models as a guide to uncover previously undocumented features.  No experience is necessary and training will be given.

Last year they surveyed 17 woods and recorded over 700 features.  In 2018 they have surveyed a further 11 more, with Middleton Woods being the last one this season. See poster below for further details of how to book.  To see reports from some of the surveyed woods,  click here