Local History on the Ground

The purpose of this book is to make available ideas, procedures and evidence that will help people explore their own areas. It starts from the premise that 'nothing ever happened here' and looks at the kinds of features that can be found, what state they might be found in, in what locations they can be expected to lie and how to read the landscape in order to find them. This covers a range of likely finds such as identifying old trackways, farm and agricultural evidence, water power extraction such as old mills, different types of building trace and foundation, and linear and discrete earthworks. It also provides information on how to avoid misidentification and distinguish critical evidence, and how documentary and air photography evidence can be used to help explain features on the ground.