Posted on 01/12/2016 10:42:00 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Aerial flood maps of Britain are revealing more than just at-risk regions - they have also led to the discovery of several Roman roads.
Amateur archaeologists have been able to use the flood-mapping technology to trace the paths of Roman roads which have remained buried under the land for some 1,600 years.
The aerial flood maps were created by aircraft equipped with laser scanners which measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground.
Using light detection and ranging (Lidar) technology, the Environment Agency was able to detect the areas of Britain which are most at risk of flooding.
The precision technology can detect differences in the height of the land of as little as 5cm, making it ideal for detecting hidden structures buried under the soil.
Although the Environment Agency has been using the technology for some 20 years, it was only made freely available to the public in 2013.
And in just two years, teams of archaeologists have already unearthed seven long-lost Roman roads across the country. ‘It is a wonderful feeling suddenly to solve a puzzle you have been working on for decades,’ retired road engineer David Ratledge, 70, who is using his retirement to trace the UK’s network of ancient roads, told The Times.
After 45 years of exploring the fields of Lancashire in search of a lost road, Mr Ratledge finally discovered a 23-mile road between Ribchester and Lancaster, thanks to the Lidar technology.
The archaeology enthusiast said that it is the first ‘new’ Roman road to be discovered in the UK for 150 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Discoveries: Amateur archaeologists have been able to use the flood maps, produced by the Environment Agency, to discover seven roads in the UK since 2013. The most recent connects Ribchester and Lancaster
Bronze Age stilt houses unearthed in East Anglian Fens
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/bronze-age-stilt-houses-unearthed-in-east-anglian-fens
[snip] Large circular wooden houses built on stilts collapsed in a dramatic fire 3,000 years ago and plunged into a river, preserving their contents in astonishing detail. Archaeologists say the excavations have revealed the best-preserved Bronze Age dwellings ever found in Britain. [/snip]
It’s true. All roads lead to Rome. Neat article. Amazing how Lidar was used to find these roads. I wish I could use it on a few places where I suspect buried treasure awaits the diligent explorer.
Roman roads?
You didn’t build that!
Cooooool!
;’)
Plebs are needed! Oh, sorry. I really miss playing “Caesar II”. Never cared for III.
If you have the money, there are American contractors that can fly LIDAR from small airplanes - drones too I think.
The Crosby Garrett Roman Helmet (looks Sarmatian)
https://esmeraldamac.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/the-crosby-garret-helmet-the-one-that-got-away/
Too bad they did not include the known exixting Roman routes on the map along with the newer finds.
Liddington Castle — Mount Badon (12th of Arthur’s 12 battles?)
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/3080/liddington_castle.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liddington_Castle
Cadbury Castle, Somerset (Camelot?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadbury_Castle,_Somerset
I’m not sure that the other routes shown are not old Roman routes; Kirkby Thore lay at a Roman crossroad, with the Maiden Way going east to west. Roman Britain really had a lot of stuff to get lost, including whole towns, it’s not surprising that it hasn’t all been figured out.
If the CG parade helmet was fully tin plated it would have helped keep the wearer’s head a bit cooler.
Looks like they are modern to me. Note the ring highway around London and the routes going into Scotland.
The road going up the coast northeast looks like the enlarged (now) A 12 up to Ipswich. That the A12 keeps going up to, I think, Great Yarmouth.
Resided a couple hundred feet from that road as a
a teenager.
BTW, the A12 followed the medieval; middle ages route of a Roman road to Colchester or maybe beyond IIRC.
Some of the major Roman roads were in use in the original throughout most of the intervening centuries, with occasional repairs during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, into modern times, and finally paved with modern methods in the past 50 to 100 years. Those Romans knew how to build roads.
Ancient Roman road map unveiled
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1930916/posts
Archaeologists discover Britain’s longest road to be 10,000 year[s] old
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3167705/posts
British Pre-Roman Roads Lead to Genesis (article)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3085467/posts
‘Roman’ roads were actually built by the Celts, new book claims
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3078474/posts
Iron Age road link to Iceni tribe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2764241/posts
What the Romans didn’t do for us
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2733107/posts
Road sees first traffic for 1,400 years
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1673842/posts
My reading of that map is that the current road system is on it, they put a dark line where the newly discovered Roman roads are. So the “ring highway” and “A 12” are modern roadways, not those that are unearthed.
I’m going to have to plan a trip to England with my metal detector.
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