The United Kingdom’s recent heat wave has revealed signs of an ancient civilization in Wales.
The dry spell sweeping over the normally temperate countryside revealed distinctive "crop marks," which are now being recorded by the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales before rain offers the parched landscape relief and they all disappear.
“The crop marks are made by vegetation drawing on better nutrients and water supplies trapped in long-gone fortification ditches — leading to lush green growth that stands out,” the BBC reported. “Deeper top soil sections covering the old settlement ditches means those areas hold onto more water and nutrients during intense dry spells — and crops are very quick to take advantage of it — growing thicker, taller, and greener.”
The effects are especially evident from the air, and Dr. Toby Driver, aerial commissioner for the Royal commission, has spent days flying over the centuries-old sites recording them, the Smithsonian reported.
Several of the sites, dating back to the Iron Age and Roman occupation, were already known. They include the Gaer Fawr fort as well as the ancient settlement of Trewan.
But the latest drought has revealed new sites, including a prehistoric or Roman farm near Langstone and a Roman fort located close to the village of Magor.
“It’s like a painting that comes out into the fieldscapes,” archaeologist Louise Barker of the Wales royal commission told Wired. “We’re seeing new things with all of these crop marks — we probably haven’t seen anything like this since the 1970s, the last time there was a really, really dry summer like this.”
Once the sites have been mapped out, the hard work begins. Archeologists will begin the painstaking task of excavation to learn more about Wales’ past and nail down the sites' ages. But at present it’s a race against time to get it mapped out before the next rainfall.
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