Simple Site Research contiued **

Check out if the Roman roads on the 1 inch to the mile map are depicted the same as those on the Roman Road map. Any that are on the Roman Road map, but that are not on the 1 inch to the mile map, should be added in clearly with a blue ball point pen, as should any missing large or small settlements.  Check the map for Roman towns and dwellings.  Look for old churches and monasteries, water mills, wind mills, castles, forts, and marching camps. All will be at strategic points. SMap showing Acrefair & Newbridgeome close to the old Roman roads, others set well back on the high ground, some distance from the old Roman roads.

These buildings are not search areas in themselves, indeed it would be against the law to detect on them, they will be Scheduled sites. They are places around which much trading and celebration took place over many generations. People will have travelled miles from the surrounding areas to buy or sell goods. They were the areas where the money was. Indeed settlements generally sprang up around them, some several miles away. Many of the settlements are quite sizeable towns today, some are still very small villages, and others no longer exist.  Mark all points on the map where several roads and paths meet, especially if a water source is close by. What you can be sure of is that the overriding factor with all settlements or single Dwellings, would have been to site them close to a natural water supply - a river, stream, brook, or spring.

Draw a circle on your map, equivalent to around a mile radius on the ground, around any castle, fort, or marching camp. Pick one in an area you already detect in, or intend to detect in. Look within the circle for any old tracks or footpaths, and anything that resembles an old dwelling or resting place. Pay special attention to any that pass or generate from what could have been a watering hole

Site Research 2
Site Research 3

 Mark each footpath, track way, etc. with a different colour ball point pen. Then draw a larger diameter circle on the map, representing 2 miles radius on the ground. Again, look for and mark all points of interest with different colour ball pens. Make up and record your own colour code. Say red for footpaths, green for trackways, etc. Continue to draw circles around your fort or castle, increasing the diameter by a mile radius on the ground each time, until you have covered a 5 mile radius around it, and mark off the points of interest each time. Next, pick another fort or castle, ideally around 10 miles from the first, and repeat the marking up again. It does not matter if the place you choose is near the coast, or on the edge of the map, you will just end up with less than full circles around them.

 

Bob Bailey's Metal Detecting Site