‘Secrets of the High Woods’ is a community archaeology project focused on revealing the hidden history of the Wooded Downs

2. About the Project
‘Secrets of the High Woods’ is a community archaeology project focused on revealing the
hidden history of the Wooded Downs.

3. Our Aims
• Explore the cultural heritage of the wooded downs, using both cutting
edge technology and traditional techniques. Doing this will help us to
better understand how human interaction with the landscape has
changed over time
• Engage the public in the heritage of the area through a range of
volunteering opportunities and activities such as guided walks. We will
also be creating online resources including an e-book and summarising
the results of the project in a travelling exhibition.
• Train volunteers and professionals in the use of lidar data to ensure an
increased understanding of and respect for heritage sites. This will lead to
enhanced future management and mitigation of the sites.

4. The project covers an area of wooded landscape in Hampshire and West Sussex
located between the A3 and the River Arun.

5. Archaeology of and in the woods
The historic environment is uniquely
preserved in the wooded downs area,
but quantifying the resource using
traditional methods of archaeological
survey is difficult.
Forest canopy reduces the visibility
of archaeological features from
aerial photographs and dense
vegetation can also limit access
and visibility for field survey.

6. In March 2014, the project captured 305km2 (30500 hectares ) of laser
scanned data across the survey area at 0.25m resolution.

9. Shaded Relief Openness Local Relief
Specialist Visualisations
Unfortunately there is no one perfect solution for archaeological prospection…

10. CMS database
developed to hold
Lidar data and
collate known
archaeological
sites
Collation and comparison of existing local Historic Environment Records GIS and
database records
Single GIS and database system to underpin all project
work

11. Lidar part of a package of resources for Historic landscape
analysis:
• Designated Sites
• Historic Environment Records
• Aerial Photography
• Satellite Imagery
• Historic Cartography

12. National Mapping Programme
Historic England and Cornwall County Council working jointly to transcribe
all features

13. Transcription progress:

14. Volunteer Engagement: Archive Research

15. Volunteer Engagement: Oral History

16. Volunteer Engagement: Fieldwork

17. Public Events
Schools visits
E-book
Guided tours
Exhibition
Scouts and guides activity
days
Walking leaflets
website
CGI

18. Legacy
County development control:
• Unparalleled data set for mitigation
• Supported by full NMP transcription
Academic research:
• Will provide an important research tool for the academic/ research
sector for years to come
SDNPA:
• A trained and experienced volunteer body to complement existing
SNDPA ranger service, and bring heritage focus to the existing
ecology narratives

19. Find out more
Website:
www.southdowns.gov.uk/highwoo
ds
Email:
highwoods@southdowns.gov.uk