jfreakofkorn
Hero Member
Treasure hunter locates a Bronze Age settlement using GOOGLE EARTH | Daily Mail Online
Gone are the days when history buffs waited to stumble across a lucky find while out walking. Now treasure hunters are using the internet to make their own fortunes.
One man has stunned professional archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth.
Howard Jonesâ online research was proved correct when he unearthed 5,000-year-old flint tools and other evidence of habitation.
He began his search for a settlement by trawling satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric man.
Using Googleâs overhead mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, he managed to pinpoint a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, then sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for remains.
It didnât take long before he unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools.
Mr Jones told Devon County archaeologist Bill Horner about his discovery, who carried out a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar equipment.
Together, they found two large buried structures that they believe are farm buildings dating back to the Bronze or Iron Age.
Mr Horner said: âThe survey shows two or three probable farmsteads which look to be late prehistoric, bronze age to Iron Age.
âOther parts of the underlying settlement possibly continue to the Romano-British period, around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.
âThe images also show tracks and enclosures, as well as a number of pits, which alongside Howardâs findings, looks like evidence of metal works.
âWe know that Devonâs mineral resources were being traded along the coast and along the channel in prehistoric times.
âWhile Dartmoor is famous for preserved historic sites, the same is not true of coastal areas. So this could be the missing link between those moorland sites and the evidence we have of trading.â
Mr Jones, who is now a commercial diver, said: âNight after night I looked at Google Earth asking myself the question âif I was alive 3,000 years ago where would I liveâ.
âI would need food, water, shelter, close to Dartmoor for minerals, close to a river to access the sea and trade routes.
âAfter a few weeks I put an âX marks the spotâ on the map - that was where I would live.â
He was initially unable to test his theory because he was unsure who the land belonged to, until he came across the landowner by chance.
âAt kids rugby training one night I remembered that one of the other coaches was a farmer and I asked him if I could field walk and detect on his land.
âAs I didnât know where his farm was, I arranged for my family and I to meet him and he gave us a tour of his fields.
âIt was then I found out that my âX marks the spotâ was on his land - it was unbelievable.â
It is hoped that a series of trench digs, set to take place February next year, will provide further evidence of the prehistoric settlement.
Mr Jones has previously searched for ancient artefacts underwater and in 2010 he was involved in the discovery of a 300-year-old Dutch merchant vessel called the Aagtekerke, off the Devon coast.
Gone are the days when history buffs waited to stumble across a lucky find while out walking. Now treasure hunters are using the internet to make their own fortunes.
One man has stunned professional archaeologists by locating a Bronze Age settlement using Google Earth.
Howard Jonesâ online research was proved correct when he unearthed 5,000-year-old flint tools and other evidence of habitation.
He began his search for a settlement by trawling satellite images for the sort of terrain that would have offered food, water and shelter to prehistoric man.
Using Googleâs overhead mapping website to zoom in on fields and farmland, he managed to pinpoint a site in Spriddlestone in the South Hams, Devon.
The former Royal Marine from Plymstock, Devon, then sought permission from the local landowner before using a metal detector to look for remains.
It didnât take long before he unearthed scraps of metal, pottery shards and flint tools.
Mr Jones told Devon County archaeologist Bill Horner about his discovery, who carried out a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar equipment.
Together, they found two large buried structures that they believe are farm buildings dating back to the Bronze or Iron Age.
Mr Horner said: âThe survey shows two or three probable farmsteads which look to be late prehistoric, bronze age to Iron Age.
âOther parts of the underlying settlement possibly continue to the Romano-British period, around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.
âThe images also show tracks and enclosures, as well as a number of pits, which alongside Howardâs findings, looks like evidence of metal works.
âWe know that Devonâs mineral resources were being traded along the coast and along the channel in prehistoric times.
âWhile Dartmoor is famous for preserved historic sites, the same is not true of coastal areas. So this could be the missing link between those moorland sites and the evidence we have of trading.â
Mr Jones, who is now a commercial diver, said: âNight after night I looked at Google Earth asking myself the question âif I was alive 3,000 years ago where would I liveâ.
âI would need food, water, shelter, close to Dartmoor for minerals, close to a river to access the sea and trade routes.
âAfter a few weeks I put an âX marks the spotâ on the map - that was where I would live.â
He was initially unable to test his theory because he was unsure who the land belonged to, until he came across the landowner by chance.
âAt kids rugby training one night I remembered that one of the other coaches was a farmer and I asked him if I could field walk and detect on his land.
âAs I didnât know where his farm was, I arranged for my family and I to meet him and he gave us a tour of his fields.
âIt was then I found out that my âX marks the spotâ was on his land - it was unbelievable.â
It is hoped that a series of trench digs, set to take place February next year, will provide further evidence of the prehistoric settlement.
Mr Jones has previously searched for ancient artefacts underwater and in 2010 he was involved in the discovery of a 300-year-old Dutch merchant vessel called the Aagtekerke, off the Devon coast.
