Did you catch BBC Countryfile last night (24 March 2024)? You may have spotted some members of our team! Geodime were asked to assist the National Trust’s archaeology team at Hinton Ampner, Hampshire by undertaking a LiDAR survey of Joan’s Acre Woods.

 

Historic mapping and previous LiDAR surveys have identified the remains of an enclosure within the woods (the date of which is not currently known) and our survey may have also picked up the hints of a further archaeological feature.

Drone mounted LiDAR is a great tool for ongoing woodland management – it can capture dense data across large areas and can be easily and quickly deployed – perfect for repeated monitoring of an area over time. Captured data not only provides a snapshot of the condition of the above ground trees and vegetation, but it can also give an indication of what may lay just beneath the surface.

By ‘stripping away’ the layers of trees and vegetation at Hinton Ampner, we can more clearly see the banks and ditches of the enclosure: 

LiDAR point cloud showing tree cover at Hinton Ampner

 

Extracted LiDAR ground surface model

The show was too jam-packed to show our results from the survey. However, check out the image below where we have highlighted the identified features – and the possible newly identified rectangular feature in the north-east. Most likely representing another internal enclosure of a similar date. It’s southern edge may also form the continuation of the bank which divides the plots east-west.

Interpretation of LiDAR results

But how old are all of these features? Our LiDAR survey may help to inform where future archaeological investigative work may take place. Time will tell!