Archaeology is defined as “the study of human antiquities, especially of the prehistoric period and usually by excavation.” Think of archaeology and you think of people on their hands and knees scraping away in the ground with a trowel, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Since the 2nd World War there’s been aerial photography, and more recently we have non-intrusive archaeology such as resistivity, magnetometry, Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) and photogrammetry. Then there’s also the much more basic ‘dowsing’ and looking at the landscape for lumps and bumps, not to mention examining standing remains, that anyone can do. 

All of these methods have been applied to Alston Moor. From prehistoric artefacts to the identification of a medieval moated site, from a Victorian ice house to a 2nd World War Prisoner of War camp, there’s something to see from the past, and we’ll see some it tonight.

This talk follows the AGM held at 7pm.