Northern Archaeological Associates (NAA), on behalf the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership, have started Season 1 of a level 1 walkover survey of Great Asby Scar. During the survey volunteers will be trained on how to ‘read the landscape’ and identify evidence of past human activity across the Scar. They will also learn how to set up a field survey and the methods used to record sites.

When on Great Asby Scar volunteers will walk a series of ‘transects’ – volunteers are spaced about 10-20m apart and walk across Great Asby Scar following a bearing and keeping an eye out for any possible features. When a feature is discovered the group comes together to record it. They then return back to their transect lines and continue surveying.

Volunteers have already recorded a number of quarries (which would have provided stone for the surrounding dry stone walls, the constructing of limekilns and a source of material for lime burning); bields (which are shelter walls for sheep); cairns (a mound of stone built as a landmark on prominent ground); and a shieling (this consisted of the footings of a rectangular building with two attached enclosures, it would have been used in the summer months while the cattle/sheep were out to pasture). 

Northern Archaeological Associates (NAA)
are running a blog on the project which you can find here.