Site Event/Activity record ECH6311 - Cheshire National Mapping Programme and Lidar Mapping Project: Sampling the Peak Fringe, Cheshire Plain and Mersey Valley

The project has identified, interpreted and recorded all probable and possible archaeological features visible as earthworks, cropmarks, soilmarks, parchmarks and structures on air photographs, lidar and height-data derived surface models within the areas selected for the project. Four areas were selected due to their differing topography, geology, land use and forces for change. The four areas comprised: Peak fringe: A 72km2 area between Lyme Park and Macclesfield Forest. This is an upland area which rises relatively steeply from the Cheshire Plain and has commanding views across the northern part of the Plain and the Mersey Valley. Numerous earthworks are known to exist in this upland region but systematic investigation had yet to take place. Forces for change include: hard rock extraction; small-scale housing development, forestry and agricultural change. East Cheshire Plain: A 43km² area between Chelford and Congleton. This was considered to be an area of high archaeological potential as suggested by the survival of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and funerary monuments and World War Two sites, but which was relatively poorly understood archaeologically for all other periods. Forces for change include: aggregates extraction and housing/light industrial development. Warrington/Mersey Valley: A 28km² area west of Warrington. Although low-lying, this area of the Mersey Valley is of a completely different character to the Cheshire Plan to the south. The area selected links up with the mapping undertaken as part of the North West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment. It contains a potentially diverse range of archaeological sites from prehistoric round barrows/ring ditches to medieval sites, as well as including the large USAAF base at Burtonwood. Forces for change include: aggregates extraction, intensive agriculture and the urban expansion of Warrington. West Cheshire Plain: A 62km2 area in south-west Cheshire. A mainly agricultural area, typically dairy farms, located between the River Dee and the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge. This area is known for its ridge and furrow earthworks. Forces for change include: agricultural change (increasing cultivation of fodder crops, establishment of intensive dairy units), housing development and coal bed methane extraction. Archaeological sites and features identified by the project were mapped to Historic England's National Mapping Programme (NMP) standards. The mapping and interpretation was based on the evidence of oblique and vertical aerial photographs held by the Historic England Archive, Cambridge University, Cheshire Archaeology Planning Advisory Service; lidar supplied by the Environment Agency via their online geostore; digital surface model derived from Next Perspectives™ height data; orthophotography provided by Next Perspectives™ through the APGB Agreement. Rectification of scanned photographs was undertaken using AERIAL 5.36 for accurate mapping. Control was derived from orthophotography. Height data provided by Next Perspectives™ through the APGB Agreement was used to create digital elevation models in AERIAL. These were used to give greater accuracy in areas of varying topography.