Sensing the late Iron Age and Roman Past: geophysics and the landscape of Hertfordshire.

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In the late Iron Age and Roman period Hertfordshire was a densely settled county. A number of Iron Age "proto-towns" - oppida -are known or suspected including Wheathampstead, Verulamium/St Albans, Welches Farm and Braughing. Some of these sites developed into the towns of the Roman period including the major site at Verulamium, the third largest town in the province. As well as the towns, a network of rural sites ranging from Roman villas to modest farmsteads existed, probably as many as one per square kilometre. In places, the pre-Roman field systems have survived to the modern day.Although much research has been conducted on both the towns and the rural sites, for example the excavations at Verulamium, Gorhambury, Baldock, Dicket Mead and Chells, there is still much we do not know about the layout of these sites and their relationship to each other. Excavation, perhaps the best known archaeological research technique, is expensive and slow and can only look at relatively small areas. Aerial photography, especially the 100% survey commissioned by Hertfordshire CC in 2010, has added many new sites and information to our understanding, but is less good for producing more detailed plans of sites, especially the smaller rural sites.This project, therefore, aims to examine a variety of Iron Age and Roman sites across the county using geophysical survey techniques, principally magnetometry. By using a magnetometer we can create plans of what lies beneath the soil without having to resort to excavation. Although lacking in the chronological precision of excavation, it can provide a valuable intermediate level of data between the aerial image and an excavated site. We will be surveying the Roman town at Verulamium as well as other sites across the county. The survey results will be combined and examined using GIS.The project is formed of a coalition of interested groups including the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, the Welwyn Archaeological Society, the St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society, the North Hertfordshire Archaeological Society, the Welwyn Hatfield and St Albans branches of the Young Archaeologists Club, Welwyn Hatfield Museum Service, St Albans Museums, St Albans City Council and the Hertfordshire Historic Environment Record. Training is being provided in the use of an advanced cart-based magnetometer for undertaking these surveys across the county. In addition, a week long summer school will be run for any community heritage group member.The results of this project will allow us to examine issues such as the layout and development of Verulamium, the nature of the numerous enclosures in the county, and the pattern of rural settlement. The results will also be fed back into the Herts Historic Environment Record to help them protect our county's heritage. The progress of the project can be followed via the project's website and blog, and the results will be published and presented in a variety of places including a one day conference at the end of the project.