Laser beams to reveal lost past of upper Teesdale

THE hidden past of Weardale and upper Teesdale is about to be unravelled thanks to a project using laser beams.
LiDAR Landscapes has been developed by the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It will enable experts and volunteers to explore what is hidden beneath our landscape using modern technology. Although much is known about the history of the North Pennines, many sites remain undiscovered because they are hard for the naked eye to see.
The technique of LiDAR – which stands for Light Detection and Ranging – uses targeted laser beams to survey the ground below which then generate detailed images that show up every lump and bump. It is hoped the system could shed new light on the area’s past.
Paul Frodsham, from the AONB Partnership, said: “Patches of uneven ground that have so far gone unnoticed, whether in ploughed fields or on open moorland, will become clearly visible on LiDAR maps.
“A similar project in the Allen Valleys recently recorded more than a thousand ‘new’ sites, dating from prehistoric to recent times.”
The project is being officially launched by Cllr Eddie Tomlinson, chairman of the AONB Partnership, at St John’s Chapel Town Hall on December 8, at 7pm. The event is open to anyone interested in finding out more about the North Pennines’ historic landscape. A second event will be held in Teesdale in the new year. TV Time Team’s landscape archaeologist Stewart Ainsworth is involved in the launch event.
Mr Frodsham said: “We want as many people as possible to get involved; no previous knowledge or experience is necessary. We’ll be running a number of workshops to train volunteers to take part in assessing the data and potentially discovering previously unknown sites.”
To book a place at the launch event, visit northpennines.org.uk or contact Paul Frodsham on 01388 528801.