Seeing the Sites: Survey and Excavation on the Anglezarke Uplands, Lancashire

Abstract

The Anglezarke/Rivington uplands of central Lancashire have, in recent years, suffered severe erosion. In response a programme of field survey was undertaken during 1983 and 1985, supplemented by palynological investigation, modern vegetation survey, and sample excavation. Two sites were investigated in detail, a cairn of likely Bronze Age date and a flint scatter of earlier Mesolithic type. The field survey demonstrated human activity on the upland throughout the prehistoric period and emphasised the heavy post-medieval exploitation of the moorland. Sample excavation confirmed the prehistoric activity and, in the case of the Mesolithic site at Rushy Brow, demonstrated the possibility of recognising and reconstructing periods of prehistoric activity of very short duration — perhaps only a few hours.

The impact of climate change on archaeological resources in Britain: a catchment scale assessment

“…Furthermore, if future climate change results in more slope channel coupling, both cultural and environmental archaeology may be under threat from both erosion on the interfluves and valley sides (Barber et al 2003;Howard-Davis 1996;Spikens 1999;Stoertz 1997) and burial across valley floors. As with other types of geomorphic change, it is essential to know which areas may be more susceptible to increased slope channel coupling and where sedimentation is most likely to occur.…”

A generic geomorphological approach to archaeological interpretation and prospection in British river valleys: a guide for archaeologists investigating Holocene landscapes

“…Unfortunately, at present, the archaeological potential of high-energy upland river systems remains relatively unknown. With the exception of studies of historic mining landscapes such as those of the Yorkshire Dales (White 1998), systematic survey of these Valley systems appears rare, with a continuing focus on the archaeological potential of moorland plateaux suffering blanket peat erosion (Howard-Davis 1996). However, the loss by fluvial erosion of robust building structures from metal mining sites (White 1998), particularly during highmagnitude events (Newson & Macklin 1990), attest to the problems facing archaeological preservation in these river systems.…”