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Great Ayton Community Archaeology Project Part 2 Image Library
News Heights
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News Heights
Location: North Yorkshire
When Bob de Wardt joined the Great Ayton Community Archaeology Project, little did he know it would take him to unexpected heights...
Bob, an electrical engineer, took a particular interest in recording the landscape changes around Great Ayton. Following a chance conversation with pilot Peter Woods, he had the opportunity to see the landscape from a new perspective.
After Peter came forward to volunteer the services of his plane, pilot and passenger took to the air. Until then, photographing any discoveries was carried out at ground level. But once they were airborne, Bob was able to photograph the local area in a fresh way. Flying over fields that still display mediaeval field patterns, Bob could see characteristic ridge and furrow field patterns. Other overgrown features, like the former iron stone mine that operated nearly 100 years ago, were also clearly visible.
Bob's flying experience was not one for the faint-hearted: "It was a very noisy, draughty, old plance - dating from 1944 - a restored Austin," he says. The World War II plane's design allowed Bob to stretch his arm out through the window, and capture his memorable aerial shots. With the pilot cruising at relatively slow air speeds, Bob took advantage and secured remarkable clear images. The results show how the local landscape still bears the marks of past agricultural and mining methods.
Back on level ground, Bob has worked with other volunteers on collecting and cataloguing their discoveries following numerous field-walking sessions. "The local farmers have been very cooperative, giving us access to ploughed fields for days or even weeks at a time for field walking and surveying," says Bob. Some farmers helped by ploughing fields for the gorup to make the searches easier.
A number of the most significant discoveries date from the Stone Age - worked flints from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods caused a lot of excitement amongst the groups's volunteers. A more recent history was uncovered after the discovery of a WWII auxiliary unit bunker.
Bob continues to be enthusiastic about local archaeology. Whether searching from above the clouds or treading the earth below, there are more discoveries he and his fellow volunteers may yet find - many more.
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